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.

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.

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.

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.

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.”

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:

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

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?

As I was leaving for the hospital on the morning of surgery, I glanced over at the shelf of bears my mother had made over the years and pulled one little snuggly (whose original name I cannot now remember) off the shelf and decided she was going to the hospital with me.

The nurse who checked me in asked about the little bear in the pale green bunny suit. I explained that since my mother could not be there with me in person that day, she would be with me in spirit through the little bear she’d made for me:

When I pulled down the hood of the bunny suit and showed her the bear underneath, she squealed with delight. Soon the entire nursing staff had gathered around to see the little bear. And when I emerged from surgery, both the bear and I had a bandage on our right elbows. And the bear in the bunny suit had a new name:  Boo Boo.

And a new tradition was born.

Since that day, every time I have surgery or some other medical procedure done, Boo Boo accompanies me. And the nurses all love him. When I had a hysterectomy in 2008, Boo Boo got a Band Aid on her tummy. And when I recently underwent a bilateral mastectomy, Boo Boo got this special badge of courage:

Boo Boo helps me get through the tough times. She reminds me that, though my mother is no longer with me, she is always with me in spirit.

What about you? What gets you through the rough times? Do you have a favorite stuffed animal or good luck charm that brings you comfort?

Repost from August 16, 2013.

By the time you read this, I’ll either be on my way to, in, or recovering from my bilateral mastectomy. In my absence I’ve decided to hand over the reins *clenches jaw* to my husband (pictured above). But before I let him have his say, let me set the stage for today’s post:

Last week I asked my husband to stop at the grocery store on his way home to pick up a few items that we needed. The conversation that ensued went as follows:

Him: Hmmmmm…Why don’t you add to your BLOG about how I do the grocery shopping, laundry, garbage, etc. AND sleep with a teddy bear! Oh wait, you already did that last part (see previous post)

Me: I will be sure to extoll more of your virtues in future blogs.

Him: You need to go through me…you don’t have copyrights to my life!

Me:  Yes I do, it’s in the contract. You should read it. But it does give you equal opportunity to start your own blog.

Him: What contract?

Me: The one they gave us in Turks and Caicos (where we got married). The addendum to the marriage contract. But I’ll tell you what, in order to give you the chance to set the record straight about who does what in our family, I’ll let you take over my blog for a day. He jumped at the chance and so, without further ado, here is a Letter From My Hubby:

Dear Friends, Family and Fans of Suzanne Whitfield Vince,

First, I’d like to thank my darling wife for giving me the opportunity to address all of you and to set the record straight on a few matters. First of all, I want you all to know that I am my wife’s biggest fan. I fully support her writing career and everything that involves. In fact, last summer I went with her to the RWA conference. Wow, that’s a lot of estrogen in one place. But it was cool.

But enough about her. Let’s talk about me and how hard it is to live under a microscope now that my wife has a blog. I mean, literally everything I say can and will be used against me in a future blog. She’s already accused me of having Male Pattern Forgetfulness, which is not even a real disorder, and ratted me out about sleeping with a teddy bear. The next thing I know she’ll be telling you that I watch The Real Housewives of Orange County (and New Jersey, which is a TOTAL train wreck), Tia and Tamara, and Little People in a Big world which is completely untrue, but when I confront her about any of it? Her response is, “I’m a fiction writer, honey. Everyone knows it’s all just made up stuff.”

Yeah, right. But today the stage is mine, so let me tell you a few things about her. Oh, wait, I’d better not. Instead I’ll just tell you how lucky I think my wife is. Whiles she cooks and does dishes, I take out the garbage, do the laundry (I even fold and put away) and the grocery shopping and, most importantly, I get up early every weekend with our dog Max, who can’t seem to sleep past 5am even after almost 5 years, so that my lovely wife can sleep in.

And, I’ve taken two weeks off work to care for her after her surgery today. I will tend to her every need without complaint. Her wish will be my command. Hungry? Not a problem. Fluff the pillows? You got it. Go buy me season two of Downtown Abby or the new John Mayer album? Right away, Dear. And I will do it with bells on because she deserves nothing less.

And speaking of John Mayer, my wife recently went public with her (one-sided) love affair with John Mayer and that I’m okay with it. I wanted to confirm that I am, in fact, okay with it because I have a similar relationship with Colbie Caillat.

And so dear friends, the next time you read something questionable in her blog about me, feel free to ask me. Just send an email to Suzanne@SuzanneVince.com with the Subject: ASK HUBBY. I will promptly reply to your question.

Thank you once for giving me the chance to vent set the record straight.

Sincerely,

HUBBY (aka Will)

What about you? Anyone else a victim of their significant other’s blog? Can I get an Amen?