Friday, February 4, 2011

Stuffed Love







My brothers and I were not easy on our stuffed friends. I still have a few of mine. Believe me, they won’t be crowned in any beauty competitions.

My little brother had a monkey (cleverly named Monkey) that smelled like a combination of steak and salad dressing. I don’t know what Monkey had gotten into, but I do know it’s not a good idea to go around smelling your brother’s things. My older brother had a fuzzy dog we called Risko. We had a tagline for Risko…Risko RISKS HIS LIFE to SAVE the others!! Proof that poor Risko lived up to that motto is that none of us can remember what happened to him. Wherever he ended up, he had to be carrying out a valiant rescue attempt.

I had a bear that underwent so many neck ‘surgeries’ that my mom finally had to crochet a collar just to keep his head on. I also had a stuffed chipmunk with tire marks on his tail. When your stuffed animals start resembling road kill, I think you’ve pretty much reached the pinnacle of toy abuse. The chipmunk and bear duo had the dubious honor of being my all-time favorites.

Here’s to the brave softies. They’re cute. They’re cuddly. They comfort us and keep us company. We repay them by biting off their noses and dropping them in the toilet.

We might have it rough. But it’s gotta be tough to be stuffed.

11 comments:

Ara Burklund said...

Ha! That's for sure!!!

Love your artwork, Adrienne--you're so talented!!!

ICQB said...

Oh wow, I can't remember what happened to all of my stuffed friends.

My daughter had so many that I was afraid the shelf we rigged to hold them would collapse and bury her in the night and that would be the last we'd see of her.
It didn't, and now the stuffed animals have been replaced with real cats.

Lisa said...

That is so cute. And I love your sketch. Classy and classic.

Mary Witzl said...

Great punchline -- and how true that is. And what Ocean Girl said about your cartoon.

My sister was ferociously hard on her dolls, but incredibly gentle on her stuffed animals. When she grew up, she never had kids, but she cares for dozens of cats and dogs.

After watching the Toy Story movies, I will never, EVER be able to throw away any of my kids' toys without crying. Thank you to the people at Pixar for that.

Nora MacFarlane said...

My 13 year old daughter cleared her room today of half her stuffed animals. It was tough on her, but she was bribed to downsize with a new rug. Her only request - Please don't give them to a daycare. I don't want anyone to drool on them.

Suzanne Casamento said...

Adorable art! LOVE it! And as for stuffies, I still sleep with my hippo, Henry. Is that weird? ;)

Kelly Polark said...

Ha! Love the bunny and bear!
I loved stuffed animals as a child. My dad put a wooden cage on my wall to keep them in because I had so many. I still have my hound dog that's name was Bogart. And I'm afraid to sniff it to see what it smells like...

Homemaker Man said...

Wicked cute drawings and a great--and mildly nauseating--observation.

cleemckenzie said...

I loved the story you told with your art. And, yes, I believe it has to be "tough to be stuffed," but wonderful to be loved so much your ears are nibbled on.

Lily Cate said...

My son has a wagon full of stuffed pals, but his trusty sidekick are a little bear named Hans (? he named the bear when he was one), a little black cat named Tiny Zorro, and a stuffed version of Ike the dog from Mark Teague's books.

LW said...

I don't know if I should laugh or cry....

This is a very cute story.

Louise