Yes. You read it right.
.
And if you know us well....or have even been reading this blog for a while....you know how much Parker loves her Lovey.
Or....if your kid has a "lovey"....imagine what it would be like if they lost theirs.
I think I
first posted about Lovey in October 2 years ago.
A quick rundown of that post: I had just washed Lovey.....Parker dropped her in the dogs' bowl.....I immediately put her in the wash....Parker screamed and cried.....when it was time to get Lovey out of the drier....I let her get Lovey out by herself and she was so proud and so happy. The pictures I took really captured her emotions.
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So Friday night, Parker had spent the night with my mom and Terry. They were going to go with my sister and Payton to the State Fair on Saturday morning and then, since Grace wasn't feeling well.....she was going to go with my sister to Jackson's birthday party.
It ended up raining...so they decided not to go to the fair, after all. So basically- they went to eat before taking her to my sister's....she had Lovey the whole time.....she'd drop her on the floor....sit her on the table, etc.
Then she and my mom went outside on the porch to wait for Poppa. She had it then.
But then it was time to leave....and she was SO enthralled with holding the umbrella....that somewhere in the midst of all of her persistence---Lovey was lost.
They didn't realize it until they got to my sister's house and Kristin asked where Lovey was.
And that's when the hunt began. Terry (Poppa) went back up to the restaurant.....looked all around.....went inside to ask if anyone had seen it. By this time it had probably only been about 10 minutes since they had left.....and it was nowhere. Vanished.
And I'm just being honest.....but Lovey has seen (and smelled) better days.....and if I saw an
nasty old raggedy doll laying on the wet ground....I would not have picked it up to put in the trash......or even touch it. I would have just left it there. You know?
So my mom calls me to tell me the news. (All the while- Parker is with my sister...on her way to the birthday party.....and the fact that Lovey is
gone has not set in yet.
Mind you.....we 'lose' Lovey everyday at our house. Every. Day. She leaves her somewhere,
under something,
in something....and sometimes it takes us quite a while to find her. Can be very frustrating at times.
Anyway- my mom tells me,
"We lost Lovey."
I'm like, "
NO!"
She says, "
Yes." And then tells me the story I just told you.
And I'll tell you......I have been trying to come up with the words that I felt for the first few hours after know she was gone and I really can't.
I was very upset (not with my mom, for sure).....but more, I guess....sad for Parker.....because she
loves that thing. And I know my mom feels bad...and I wish she wouldn't.....but really......this was just something that was bound to happen and it could have been with any one of us. Like I said....we 'lost' her every day.
So we immediately start searching the Internet, eBay....just trying to find another one just like her.
The deal is....we had no idea what brand of doll she was or where she was purchased. It was a gift that was given at one of her showers.....and I honestly cannot remember who gave it to me. And truth be told.....when she was 9 months old I was cleaning out her room....and she already had an arsenal of stuffed animals....only- we had no room for them and she never played with them.
So I had decided to get rid of a few of them, including Lovey (her name wasn't Lovey then), only....that day- she took a liking to her. So I thought to myself,
"I'll just let her play with it today....tomorrow she will probably have nothing to do with it like she does with all of her toys as she tires of them, and then I will just get rid of it then." And they have been together ever since. I always say that "
I was a day away of throwing her away." So that kind of makes the story a little neat.
Moving on....
We couldn't find the same doll. I sent Geoff up to the restaurant to look just one more time. No luck.
I just had the sunken feeling and was so sad for Parker. And I felt
ridiculous at the same time. Here I am....mourning this doll....when others in the world had
real problems!!!
I even started flashing back in my head to memories of Parker with Lovey and how happy she made her. (I know- a little {ok- a lot} on the pathetic side).
But the conclusion I came to...with the help of Geoff....was that....it wasn't so much that I was sad that Lovey was gone, per se.....but that I just didn't want Parker to hurt.
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Good news. Geoff continued searching online and we found a new Lovey! She will be shipped tomorrow and will receive her in 2-4 days. We have found several more and may order another one for back-up, but I want to wait to see how she reacts.
This will be her new Lovey....

And this is a picture of her taken a few months back..

She had a few meltdowns last night....and I laid in bed with her for about 30 minutes until she fell asleep. It was like her brain couldn't stop running...trying to process that Lovey was gone....but that she was coming back?
As of today.....she is doing so much better. She'll ask about her....where she is...and when she'll be back. We told her that she went to get cleaned since she dropped her at the restaurant. I gave her Grace's Lovey (it's not really Grace's...she hasn't picked hers yet, but it was a doll that was given to us at a shower for Grace) to sleep with because I figured she needed something to hold...or at least...I'm that way. I sleep with a body pillow and if I don't have it....I just don't sleep as well.
But here are some things that she has said yesterday and today that I just want to remember.....
After telling her that she is getting clean...she says,
"but i don't want her clean." Or,
"i don't want her like that."
"Mommy, do you know where my lovey is?"
"but I love
lovey!"
"I want to hold my Lovey!""
We have to go night-night 2 more times (holding her 2 fingers up and pointing at them with the other hand)
and then I get to see my Lovey."And yesterday evening when she came home....she started looking in her overnight bag for lovey.....looked in the dryer for lovey....
And would say,
"is she at my house?"____________
A part of me wonders if she'll have forgotten about her....or at least....lost interest in her by the time we get the new one here. For some reason.....I hope she loves her just the same.
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And now....for a look back.... :) It's actually kind of hard to find a picture without Lovey in it somewhere. She was always around!
Recently....






Two years ago....


