Tuesday - Day 72 - Something to Love

Keeping busy is the key to surviving in a camper.  Being cooped up for days when it rains can get old, so when the sun comes out and I leave to visit with friends or to run errands, I often forget I even live at a campground.  And when I return, I am happy to see my home on wheels is waiting for me.

Every Tuesday I have an ongoing play date at the local McDonald's play area. The happy meals are discounted and the adult company is golden.

Most of the moms I am only acquainted with, considering I do not drop by every week, and then there are the new moms I meet on the weeks I do go.  A long time friend invited me to these weekly outings and I am forever grateful.

Today I meet a young mom who had a son, around the age of three.  Ty innocently claimed her son's lovey off a chair and hugged it with all his might.  All the ladies oooo'd and aaaaa'd watching Ty run with glee holding his new found friend snug in his arms.

Ty came with his own lovey who sat idly in his stroller, I grabbed it and exchange the little boy's puppy lovey for Ty's monkey lovey.  Ty was equally satisfied, his comfort and happiness restored in the simplest form.

I chatted with the mother briefly about loveys and how important I thought they were for a child's  development.  She listened wide eyed and I soon learned she had her own childhood lovey she still kept in her bedroom, her husband often teased her about it.

I have watched my step-children grow up with loveys, transporting them back and forth between their mother and father's homes.  I have seen my boys attach to their own loveys.

James is on his third lovey, the first was an adorable bear lost at age one.

James first lovey lost when he was one. 

The second was a Poo bear look a like, lost at the end of last year.  James tells me he misses his last lovey, the only one he remembers owning.  It was his friend, his safety net, no matter what his mood.

James most beloved lovey.

I reluctantly gave James one of Ty's unused loveys gifted to him when he was first born.  James attached to it quickly, which surprised me.  I have observed James and since we've moved he does not always need to have his lovey with him.  He often forgets to bring him places, but he still hugs and hold him tight with love.  A bittersweet reality that he is slowly out growing it.

 As a mom, I never want to see James teased for having a lovey, but I am convinced he is a sweeter, better child because he learned to love his lovey at at a young age.  He loves lovey and it is all his to love.  It is his lovey to hold and cherish no matter where he is.  Lovey allows James to be unconditionally affectionate and loving, wonderful traits for any little boy.

James latest Lovey,
conveniently named  "Puppy Dog"

Ty adores his lovey and looks for it often. He hugs it tight and always sleeps with it, sometimes covering his little face with it.  I catch him looking and finding his lovey during the night while he is still asleep.

Ty's monkey lovey.
Ty is our little monkey.

All children do not need loveys to be sweet, warm and loving, however, I am confident having a lovey helps ensure our kids are not ever afraid to love and are never lacking for the love they need.  When mom or dad are not there, lovey is always there to fill a need.  That's why we call it a 'lovey'.