keepsake

It finally happened a month ago. Lauren's little-formerly-pink-raggedy-ball-of-yarn blankie that she took everywhere disappeared. We thought it would turn up like it has every time before, but it didn't. We would have checked the local lost-and-founds, but really, who would look at Blankie and see something that someone would claim? Only Lauren.

She's taken the disappearance pretty well. Much better than I imagined. So today it was funny when, while cleaning the girls' room, I heard Lauren say, "Hey, Mom. Remember when you said that one day my blankie would just be a string of yarn?" I turned around to see her holding a single, twisted strand. "Maybe this is it." She laughed.

We stuck the strand to the cork board for safe keeping. And maybe an occasional brush on the cheek, or a little sniff.

Post-edit: We did finally find Blankie weeks later, inside one of the backpacks the girls use for dressinig up. Since Lauren's already adopted a replacement that isn't falling apart, I put Blankie in our hope chest.