Thursday, December 1, 2016

One Special Bird

Recently, I told you about my morning with Sarah and her friend, Beth. Here's what Sarah and I did the rest of the morning after we left Beth and her singing. It was a simple, routine morning, but one that gave me a smile for the rest of the day.

The air had a chill to it as Sarah and I did our regular walk from one building to the other on a short path that goes through the woods. Sarah enjoys these walks because she loves everything to do with nature. We always stop and examine a leaf, bug, or bird along the way. Actually, we examine many leaves and bugs- some of which we collect. More often than not, our pockets are full of her treasures. This morning as we were walking along, Sarah said she saw a skunk. I told her, I wasn't sure it was a skunk and suggested that maybe it was a cat. I then told her about a black and white cat I used to have named Samantha.

I shared stories about how Samantha would stand up on her hind legs and hold her paws like she was praying. I also told her how Samantha would drag clothes into a pile and how one time she made a pile of my mother's underwear by the front door. Sarah was amused by these stories and asked how old Samantha was. I told her that Samantha lived a long time ago and she had died.

We finished our walk to the other building and sat down to examine our treasures. However, Sarah had other things on her mind. She was obviously still thinking about Samantha because she told me that it was okay to be sad sometimes and gave me a big hug. She said that she had my back and she loved me. But to top it all off, she dug through the bag of stuffed animals she had with her and picked out one specific one for me. It was a very well loved Beanie Baby bird that she told me was a kookaburra. I was afraid that Sarah would miss this bird when she got home so I suggested that she could keep it for me and she could bring it back every time we met. You see, even though Sarah has dozens and dozens of stuffed animals, she has given each one a name and personality. She would definitely know if one were missing. But she insisted that I keep it, so I did.

After our very tender moments of Sarah consoling me about the loss of Samantha, we started to sing Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum tree laughing as we sang. A perfect ending to another special morning with Sarah.


12 comments:

  1. What a sweet story, live and learn. I'm sure you will treasure your new stuffed friend.

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    1. The bird is sitting with me at the computer. It seems to have a very knowing and happy expression which makes me smile when I see it.

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    1. I am very fortunate to get to spend time with Sarah. At times she can be challenging, but her loving nature overrides all of that.

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  3. SO sweet. Aww! My daughter likes the picture of the kookaburra and would completely understand it having a special name and personality. :)

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    1. Besides having their unique personalities, some of the stuffed animals are pretty mischievous and get in trouble when we're together. Sarah's mother tried to limit her to bringing only two with her, but it was a losing battle. As long as she can carry what she brings (my rule), the extra ones are not a problem for me.

      When my boys were little, they had a lot of stuffed animals. However, they never had personalities and seldom had names. Mostly they threw them trying to make baskets or at each other. Did/do your son and daughter play with stuffed animals differently?

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    2. Yes, stuffed animals with personalities have been a big part of their play experience. My daughter isn't into dolls so much. My son still plays with her (he'd be very unhappy if anyone outside of the family knew that! But this is an anonymous enough forum that I feel like I can share it) and he injects a masculine influence on the experience (wars, etc.). One of their most recent experiences was with nominating our cat for president (hey, I thought the idea had merit!), putting up campaign posters, and having the animals go to the polls. We still have campaign posters all over the basement and some of them were pretty funny.

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    3. That sounds like so much fun--nominating the cat for president complete with campaign posters and all. Your kids sound creative and down to earth. I think you're doing something right.

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  4. What a sweet gift from Sarah to you! Such a generous heart!

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    1. She is one of the most loving and generous people I know.

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  5. Sarah is such a sweetie to worry about you being sad.

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    1. I saw her again this week and she is still happy with me having the kookaburra. I'm glad because I'm enjoying having it around.

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What do you think?