Every year since 2001, I call this my crying day. My heart aches for all the men, women and children that lost loved ones on this day. I'm sad that in some way, our innocence was taken away. The events of 9/11 forever changed the way we travel and the way we feel about what's possible or isn't possible in this world. I'm so very sorry for anyone that was harshly affected by this day. My heart goes out to them and think about them on a yearly basis. I send out hugs and positive wishes that time will heal those wounds and replace it with happy thoughts of your brave loved ones.
Today, I'd like to think of happy things and cry for a different reason (and I'm such a wuss, that I often do, with the slightest provocation), so I'm sharing this story with you.
I saw this article on Facebook today and it caught my attention. It's about a little boy that lost his beloved Ah-ah toy monkey and was reunited with it 3 years later (go ahead, watch the video, I challenge you not to cry).
It really struck a cord with me because I too lost a beloved toy when I was young. I can't remember how old I was, but my parents had just bought me a toy bunny and it was from a toy line called Sunburst Pets. I remember it had a dress and it had a collar and a sun on it's butt. My parents took me to Chuck E. Cheese one day. It was a big deal because I had never been, so this was my very first trip. Apparently, back then, the closest one was kind of far, so we had made a special trip. I brought bunny with me and played on all the video games and the skee-ball and had the best time. When it was time to leave, I noticed I didn't have bunny with me anymore. We looked everywhere. Asked everyone. No bunny. He was lost. Taken. And I had the whole long ride home to dwell on how I shouldn't have put bunny down. I cried and begged and pleaded for my parents to buy me another bunny but they refused. As hard as it was for them, they were teaching me a valuable life lesson. Be careful with items that you cherish as they are not always replaceable.
Now, this story does not end here. Like the video, with the advent of eBay, I'm sure that the Ah-ah story is not the first of it's kind. A few years ago, eBay even ran an ad campaign about a guy who lost his toy boat and found it again years later. In fact, I even wrote about it 6 years ago in my old blog. That campaign inspired me to search for bunny. I searched on eBay time and again, but never found bunny.
My husband however, did. He found a similar bunny (also a Sunburst pet, with a collar and a sun on it's butt), purchased it and gave it to me in an Easter basket this year. I'm not sure that it is the same bunny, but the thoughtfulness of it all touched my heart. It actually doesn't even matter that it's not the same one because the new old bunny is sitting at home safe and sound, reminding me that I am loved.
Now, whenever my children ask me if they can take a toy anywhere. I say yes, but the toy stays in the car!
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