Who is “Dottie” you may ask? Dottie is my Little One’s beloved stuffed friend.
Dottie was a toy that we purchased for $3 out of a clearance bin in Toys R Us a few months ago. The stuffed animal is a cross between a pig and a cow that is white with pink polka dots. If we would have known that Dottie was going to be our daughter’s BFF, we would have totally bought two of her!
Advice for new parents – If you find that your child is particularly fond of a stuffed animal, I highly recommend that you buy more than one. This way you can swap them when it’s time for the stuffed animal to have a “bath”, etc.
To get ready for Operation Swing Set weekend, The Hubby, Little One, and Dottie went shopping at the local Wal-Mart with “Memaw”, “TT”, and “Baby Tre” this past Friday. Apparently, the shopping trip was quite eventful and perhaps a bit stressful for the adults. Somehow in the confusion of everything, Dottie was left behind. (Insert menacing organ music here)
Realizing what happened; The Hubby immediately went back to Wal-Mart to try to rescue Dottie from retail hell. He searched high and low in the store and the parking lot to no avail. He even had a page sent out to all the store associates in hopes that someone may have found it. No such luck. In the meantime, we are searching the house to make sure Dottie didn’t sneak into one of the grocery bags. Luckily, the Little One was easily distracted from Dottie’s absence by “Papa” and family friends.
The Hubby returned home devastated and defeated. We took a big breath and slowly came to the realization that we are going to have to deliver the first bad news in our Little One’s young life. Both of us didn’t look forward to having to explain to the Little One about her now lost BFF.
Honestly, the Little One took it like a champ. I think it was because she was completely exhausted from the activities and company. She merely asked for Dottie… we explained that Dottie was left behind at the store. Or perhaps she knew that her little friend would return home. Who knows! I can tell you that we were certainly grateful for her calm reaction. That night, we searched on EBay to find another “Dottie”. We found something similar but not quite the same. We ordered it out of parental desperation… thinking that the animal may be close enough in appearance to be at least a comfort to the Little One. We even had a brief back story created on how this new friend was Dottie’s cousin.
Honestly, the Little One took it like a champ. I think it was because she was completely exhausted from the activities and company. She merely asked for Dottie… we explained that Dottie was left behind at the store. Or perhaps she knew that her little friend would return home. Who knows! I can tell you that we were certainly grateful for her calm reaction. That night, we searched on EBay to find another “Dottie”. We found something similar but not quite the same. We ordered it out of parental desperation… thinking that the animal may be close enough in appearance to be at least a comfort to the Little One. We even had a brief back story created on how this new friend was Dottie’s cousin.
Alas, time didn’t stop. Operation Swing Set went ahead and was completed (more on that in a different post).
Wouldn’t you know it? “Memaw” found Dottie on Sunday! Just by chance, she decided to do some light grocery shopping to get the items that were missed on Friday while the rest of us were in nearby Target. She checked with the Customer Service desk for the Lost & Found but no luck. So, she went ahead with her shopping all the while keeping a look out for the missing BFF. She discovered Dottie face down in one of those open freezer chests in the meat section of the store. Hallelujah!
When we returned to the car, the Little One found Dottie sitting in her car seat. The look of happiness and delight was plainly seen across our daughter’s face as she gives Dottie a big bear hug.
And just like that… all is right in the world once again.
1 comment:
I'm so glad she was found!!!
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