In 2010, CNN reported that the British hotel chain Travelodge did a study and determined that 25% of men take teddy bears on the road with them when they travel for business. Wow, I thought, and … Read the rest →]]>  

In 2010, CNN reported that the British hotel chain Travelodge did a study and determined that 25% of men take teddy bears on the road with them when they travel for business. Wow, I thought, and how many more actually sleep with them every night but are just too embarrassed to travel with one?

When I read the survey, I shared this information with my husband, who promptly asked how that information was obtained. “Did they have the housekeepers search the rooms of their guests??”

“I don’t know, the article didn’t say,” I said. “Why do you ask?”

“I was just wondering if men actually display them on their beds, or if they hide them in their suitcases and only take them out at night?”

I grinned.  This survey information really seemed to upset him. “I don’t know,” I said. “But you might want to take that lock for your suitcase next time.  Just in case, I mean.”

He nodded thoughtfully. And that was the end of the conversation. At least until recently. Earlier this year I informed him that I was going to start my own website, complete with a blog. And like a typical man, he asked “why?” I looked at him with that look that we wives give our husbands when they say stupid stuff like that to us, and calmly explained my ideas and my vision.

And then I thought about how I could use my website to embarrass him and make him pay for asking the “why” question. And then it hit me. I would write an article about the men who travel with their teddy bears, and tell the world that he is one of them! So there it is folks. And its name is BB, which used to stand for Blue Boy, but since my sister re-stuffed him a couple of years back, he has been renamed Buff Body.

I knew there would be repercussions for exposing this information about him because he is an Officer in the Military (God bless our soldiers), and he would never want any of the “guys” to know he sleeps with a snuggly, but I decided it would be worth the risk. Besides, as long as none of his shipmates, as he sometimes calls them, read this blog, his secret will be safe.

And then, being the kind, loving and supportive guy that my husband is, he smiled and said “That’s great honey, but first of all, you know that is a heinous lie, and second, if you dare tell such a grievous lie in your blog, you might just find Timmy missing one of these days.”

*Gasps*

“You wouldn’t!  Not Timmy!” I admit to having more than a few stuffed animals, and Timmy is the most special one.  My mother made him and since she passed away 12 years ago, every time I miss her, I just give him a squeeze and can I feel her love.

Timmy is so well loved that he looks like I’ve had him since I was 8 instead of 28.  But I’m not embarrassed to tell you this because I am, after all, a chick.  And it’s cool for chicks to have stuffed animals. Guys? Not so much.

But I decided I just couldn’t take a chance on anything happening to Timmy, so here it is folks, I made the whole story up (except the part about the actually survey, that part is true).  It was all a cruel lie (but fun, don’t you think?). BB does in fact belong to our daughter. But don’t worry folks, Timmy has been removed to a secure location, just in case.

What do you think about men who sleep with teddy bears? I want to know!

Today, in honor of National Teddy Bear Day, I … Read the rest →]]> “Wake in the deepest dark of night and hear the driving rain. Reach out a hand and take a paw and go to sleep again.”
–Charlotte Gray

Today, in honor of National Teddy Bear Day, I thought I’d share the story of a very special someone in my life.

Meet Timmy.

To love me is to love my teddy bear. My husband learned this early on in our relationship. When we first met, my beloved bear, Timmy, occupied not only the center of my bed but of my heart as well.

You see, my mother, who brought Timmy to life in 1988, had passed away two months before I met my husband. During those two months, Timmy helped me through many sleepless nights.

In my grief I clung to him and cried rivers of tears into him. Knowing my mother’s beautiful hands had made him, I nearly squeezed the stuffing out of him, hugging him as if I were somehow hugging her.

The defining moment in my budding relationship with my husband came the first time he spent the night at my place. As we crawled into bed, each from our own side, his eyes traveled to the bear. And then to me.

I should point out here that on our first date, I cried when we talked about my mother. On our second date, while standing in the middle of Starbucks, I cried again. While other people looked at us…looked at him, wondering what he’d done to make me cry, he simply put his arms around me and held me.

And so, when I slid to the middle of the bed and placed Timmy behind me, not a word was spoken.

The following morning, I introduced the two of them. A few weeks later, I was awakened by a soft tap on my shoulder. I opened my eyes to find Timmy staring back at me. “Wake up, Mommy,” a small voice said.

In that moment, I knew I’d found a keeper.

In fact, over the next few months, the two men in my life became great friends. One morning, my (not-yet but getting ever closer) husband remarked that he wished he had someone as special as Timmy, handmade by his own mother.

And so, a few months later, after privately emailing his mother, Junior was born. Though not technically a teddy bear, Junior is much beloved member of the Vince family.

Since that time, many stuffed animals have come into our lives. They fill our hearts and our home and can be seen in nearly every room of the house. And we’ve loved each and every one of them.

But none is more special to me than Timmy. He is The Special One.

Related Posts:

Men Who Sleep With Teddy Bears
Ode To The Teddy Bear

Important Dates to Remember:

National Take Your Teddy to Work Day:  October 14, 2015

“You promised that you’d never leave. Where are you now?”
–unknown

Teddy Bear Picnic Day:  July 10, 2016

“Teddy bears like to go on morning picnics in the summertime, so they can enjoy the sunshine before it’s it too hot for their furry selves.”
-Abigail Darling

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