Finding an old friend

Anyone who knows Grace, knows her life-long friend, Red Dog. A little history on Red Dog --

When I was pregnant, I took a daring trip to Ikea near Woodfield Mall (daring, given that I was huge, and it was the last week that my doctor "allowed" me to travel more than 20 minutes away from the hospital -- "just in case"). I don't really know why I went, but I was compelled to shop at Ikea on this particular day -- probably something hormonal, I'm sure!

At Ikea, I found two baskets of stuffed animals -- one animal was red and the other was blue. They were soft, cuddly, and - best of all - on sale -- I simply couldn't resist!

Now, the blue stuffed animal was truly a "dog." But the red one -- well -- let's just say it kind of resembles a dog, but is really a kangaroo. However, since "kangaroo" is more complex than "dog," the red stuffed animal became a "dog."

From day one, Grace loved her red dog! (Jacob never quite accepted blue dog, so "Blue Dog" soon migrated to the more accepting arms of Grace.) And the names for these "friends" were simple -- Red Dog and Blue Dog. Even though Blue Dog had now found a more loving home in Grace's bed, Red Dog was always the favorite.

Red Dog has gone everywhere with Grace! And given her profound attachment to Red Dog, we have taken great care to be sure that he is in sight, and his exact whereabouts are expressly known, each and every time he has ventured from our home. Red Dog has even accompanied Grace to "show-and-tell" at Preschool on at least two occasions (on one occasion, several other students attempted to correct Grace by pointing out that Red Dog looked more like a kangaroo than a dog -- Grace, of course, quickly corrected these students to point out that they were mistaken!) And, of course, through these travels and due to much love, Red Dog has become matted, quite foul smelling (an occasional mandatory journey to the washer provides a short reprieve from the stink, but you can only do so much after time), and appears to have lost most of its stuffing.

Sadness struck our home a little more than a month ago (maybe closer to 2 months) when Red Dog's whereabouts could not be ascertained. Now, Red Dog has gone missing on many prior occasions, but never for more than 24 hours. In the past, he has been found having all sorts of adventures -- shoved inside a school bus, inside the refrigerator apparently because he was hungry, playing inside a treasure chest, winning at hide-and-seek inside a closet -- but Red Dog was really missing this time. Everyone looked high and low -- no sign of Red Dog anywhere. And when Grace was questioned about his whereabouts, she would simply say "Red Dog ran away."

During the last 2 months, according to Grace, Red Dog would secretly make his presence known by engaging in mischievous behavior (for which Grace was unjustly blamed!), such as: breaking a toy, coloring on important papers belonging to mommy and daddy, taking mommy's checkbook into Grace's bed, playing with toys and not putting them away -- the list was endless. Despite Red Dog's apparent presence, he was not seen . . . until trash night . . . Franco was clearing out some old boxes in our basement, when he came across a plastic shopping bag shoved between the boxes -- low and behold, inside the bag was Red Dog (accompanied by a handful of other miscellaneous treasures and toys that he had apparently absconded with in his misadventures!) . . . how he had traveled to this place will always remain a mystery . . . ahh, the mind of a 4 year old!

The reunion was priceless! Since Grace has now been reunited with her best friend, they have been inseparable! I tried to convince her to let me give Red Dog a bath (as he was stinkier then usual), but could not pry him away from Grace's loving embrace. Red Dog even "ate" some ranch dressing, adding to his "sweet" aroma.

Grace now has her old friend back. How precious is an old friend -- an old friend knows you without you having to explain. An old friend does not judge. There is history which leads to understanding -- a single glance or a nod of the head is all that is required to convey a hundred thoughts with an old friend. The comfort and security of an old friend is a blessing. Thank you for old friends!