A Girl from Pluto Ep. 9

        

This series will contain posts styled as a memoir with memories that I feel like sharing. I first wrote these articles in 2017 when I was suffering from burnout. I may post one or two a month. I hope you enjoy these intimate glimpses into the life of...

Episode 9

Security

Many children need security. Not just a safe home and a caring family. Some children need something a little more, something they can hold and cuddle. For me, this was my blankie, that lavender knitted blanket that I’d put on my head to act like hair. 

I went everywhere around the house with this blankie, and no one minded. Thankfully, they never did what Owen’s family did in the children’s book written by Kevin Henkes. Owen had a blankie he lovingly called Fuzzy, but his parents wanted to kick his habit of bringing his blankie everywhere because he was going to enter Kindergarten. They’d steal it a night and soak it in vinegar. All to make Owen want to stop using his blankie. How awful. I’d clutch my blankie tighter when I read this story or had it read to me. 

Thinking about it now, it’s terribly sad that a parent could think they have to “fix” their child and come up with a “remedy” so your child wouldn’t want to have their blankie anymore. And all because they’re going to start Kindergarten. 

I never brought my blankie to school. It stayed in bed until I came home, and then I’d snatch it up and would drape it over my shoulder or around my neck so I could have it if I sat on the couch or wherever I went.

If my mom had cut up my blankie into small squares, I would’ve been devastated. It wouldn’t be the same blankie anymore. I probably wouldn’t have wanted it, which, if you’re like Owen’s parents and wanted this…you win!

My blankie did end up getting a lot of holes because the knitting started to unravel, but I continued to love it.

Even when I was older, a pre-teen, I still slept with it. I just didn’t bring it around the house anymore. If I slept over at my best friend’s house, I’d neatly fold it and slip it into my pillowcase so I could still touch it when I slept.

My blankie was for security.

When my family fought, I’d clutch it to my chest. When I my throat hurt, I’d use it as a scarf. When I didn’t feel good, I’d press it to my tummy. But it wasn’t just for comfort.

It was also a friend. I didn’t talk to it, but because it gave me security, happiness, warmth, and comfort, it very much was a dear friend.

I slept with this blankie until I was eighteen and it had so many holes I was afraid it’d fall apart, so I folded it up and stuck it into a container containing my favorite childhood mementos. It’s still there. If I dig through that container looking for something and come across my blankie, I hug it to my chest, remembering its love and thanking it for all the time we had together. 

If your child has a blankie or woobie, please don’t force your child to give it up. They have it because they need the comfort and security it offers. There’s nothing wrong with this. Maybe your child will grow out of it or do what I did: cherish it. Or maybe your child will still need it as an adult. No judgements!

Yes, even some adults need a woobie. I actually still have one. It’s not my childhood baby blanket but a teddy bear I received when I had spine surgery the day after I turned fifteen. A sweet woman behind the receptionist’s desk called me over and said I looked like I needed something to hug, and then she pulled out a silky, brown bear with a blue ribbon tied in a bow around its neck, and she gave it to me. At the time I thought, “I’m too old for a teddy bear.” But I took it and kindly thanked her for it. That bear was on my hospital bed with me while I was in pain. I didn’t actually hold it then, but it was there. 

Later, it was there in the corner of my bed for the next two years. I was eighteen when I woke up one night with the stomach bug. After getting sick to my stomach, this bear went from being in the corner to being hugged to my tummy beneath my comforter. A few months after this, I stuffed it into my suitcase when I went to Michigan to visit family, and I slept with it hugged to my tummy. 

Now that I think about it, this was around the same time when I stopped using my blankie, so maybe this was a sign that I still needed something, and the teddy bear took my blankie’s place, offering comfort when I most needed it. 

Do you want to know a secret? I still sleep with this teddy bear.

Do you have a woobie? Do you still have the one you loved as a child? Find it and give it a hug.