Ode to the Teddy Bear

New Teddy. Photo by Suzanne Vince.
New Teddy. Photo by Suzanne Vince.

While I was home recovering from surgery recently, I received a gift from my sister. It was a teddy bear. But not just any old teddy bear. This was a Vermont Teddy Bear. The Vermont Teddy Bear comes with a lifetime guarantee:

If anything should ever happen to your Bear, even if the family dog decides to make it his favorite toy, just send it back to us here at the Factory and we will nurse him or her back to health in our Bear Hospital at no charge. Talk about a great health care plan! If by chance your Bear was too badly injured with no hope of recovery, we will replace your Bear with a new one for FREE!

Finally, a teddy bear company truly understands the special place that a teddy bear holds in the hearts of kids everywhere. Even big kids. Like me.

Winnie the Pooh (and Piglet) and the books my sister used to read us. Photo by Suzanne Vince
Winnie the Pooh (and Piglet) and the books my sister used to read us. Photo by Suzanne Vince

I’m not sure where my love for teddy bears came from. When I was young, my oldest sister Nancy used to read Winnie the Pooh books to the three youngest girls in my family. We each had our own character (I was Piglet, the littlest one) and we’d speak in our little voices when reading our parts. Perhaps it started then.

Photo by Suzanne Vince
Photo by Suzanne Vince

Or maybe it was when my mother began making stuffed animals. She’d start with a few balls of yarn and a bag of stuffing, and she’d beam with pride every time she finished one.

Timmy. Photo by Suzanne Vince.
Timmy. Photo by Suzanne Vince.

I named the first one she made Timmy. And to this day, he is my most cherished possession. When I squeeze him, I can feel my mother’s love.

My love for stuffed animals started at a young age.
My love for stuffed animals started at a young age.

Or maybe it’s just something I was born with. My husband even tells me I was a Puppeteer in a previous life. Though I’m no ventriloquist, I have the ability to make people laugh even when they’re angry (especially then). Every night before bed when my daughter was little, I’d send her into fits of laughter just by bringing her stuffed animals to life.

“But…you’re all grown up now, Suzanne,” you might be thinking. “It’s time to put away such childish notions.”

A barrel of (sock) monkeys. Photo by Suzanne Whitfield Vince
A barrel of (sock) monkeys. Photo by Suzanne Whitfield Vince

Um, no. My love for Teddy Bears (I also love sock monkeys) is simply a part of me. One of the best parts. It’s the playful side of me that everyone should have. It’s what keeps us young at heart. It keeps us from taking ourselves (and life) too seriously. Without teddy bears, life would be lonely.

And apparently I’m not the only one who feels this way:

Ode to Teddy Man and Teddy
Photo via Google images.

This man is offering a $500 reward for the loss of his 47 year-old bear. To read the story, CLICK HERE

Image via teddybearlife.com
Image via teddybearlife.com

This Website is devoted exclusively to the adventures of an entire Teddy family.

And this this wikiHOW tells you how to make the perfect life for your teddy bear in twelve easy steps.

What about you? What makes you feel young and playful?

6 comments on… “Ode to the Teddy Bear”

  1. I LOVE teddy bears,, too. I can see five from where I am sitting at my desk. The most prized teddy bear is called Gerry Bear. I worked 22 years for Gerry Bear. You see, I belong to a group of writes that is known as The Playground. Each time one of us gets a first book, they get a bear representing the hero or heroine in that first story. My Declan was a charming Scot living in the west so my bear is a Scottish cowboy complete with kilt and cowboy hat. Do I treasure him – yes. I talk to him and we discuss stories with my muse.

    I love the bear your sister sent you, Suzanne. A keeper for sure. You keep on getting better. Sending healing hugs.

    • What a great tradition, Marlene! I love it. Declan must be very special. In my debut novel, which just released last week, there is actually a teddy bear named Theodore Izzle.

      I have yet to name New Teddy. Thoughts?

  2. I have never had a Vermont Teddy Bear, but I’ve taken the tour – twice! Once with my husband when his sales territory included Vermont and once on a camping trip with my dad, my son, and my niece and nephew. The kids claimed it was the best part of the trip! My faithful teddy bear (Panda Bear) was given to me for Christmas, probably when I was four or five. My foster sister received the same bear, but in a different color. Panda Bear is safely tucked away in a box, but came out of retirement to oversee my son’s teddy bear collection. One of his favorite games as a toddler was to be in his crib, get covered with all of his teddy bears, and then pop out of them and shout, “Teddy bear pop-up!” He could do that for hours and hours!

    • Faith – that is so cute! How cool that you got to visit the Vermont Teddy Bear company. I’ll have to add it to the bucket list when I go do the New England tour. Did you get to visit the Bear Hospital? 🙂

  3. I was never a Teddy bear fan, but I did collect stuff animals, most of which have found new homes over the years. But, when my other died, I “inherited” some Teddy bears and a small collection of add dolls that she had been saving for years. I didn’t even know she had a lot of that stuff. They are all proudly displayed in very special places in my home today, in honor of my mother’s obvious love of them.

    Patricia Rickrode
    w/a Jansen Schmidt

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked with an *

*

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

© 2022 Suzanne Whitfield Vince Site Design by Memphis McKay
Our privacy policy can be found here

You have Successfully Subscribed!