Nate and Jack the Bear

October 8, 2007 - Monday
Nate and Jack the Bear

Well, Nathanael quite a night Saturday night!

We went to visit with friends and watch the AL/Arkansas game. Good evening, came home and caught the end (and win for AL!) of the game. We got the children ready for bed and all was well. We tidied up a little and retired to try to catch replays on the news. All children in bed, right? Well, Nate comes in to our room and says, "Daddy! Jack the Bear too hot!" What? OH!!! JACK THE BEAR TOO HOT! We take off running to the kitchen.

A little prelude…for Christmas we purchased an aromatherapy bear for Nate. It's 3 lbs b/c it's filled with buckwheat and lavender. I think the weight has been perfect for him and he has been his sleeping/play companion ever since. He's gone a few naps (at other places) without him, but otherwise he has been by Nate's side. Nate tucks him in at night, making sure Jack the Bear is well-covered. It's been a very sweet thing to watch. Sometimes Nate likes us to warm Jack the Bear (note: it's never just "Jack", but always "Jack the Bear") in the microwave. We warm one minute, then turn him around and warm another minute. Never ever more than two minutes, per instructions.

Back to Friday night (you see where this is going)…we rush to the kitchen and smell him before we see him. The microwave door is open and Jack the Bear is smoking. Honestly – a trail of smoke is coming out of him. And he is glowing a little. Kevin backs everyone up and pulls him out of the microwave while I try to remember where the fire extinguisher is (jic). Kevin puts Jack the Bear in the sink and we notice that Jack the Bear has a large black hole under his arm. Buckwheat and lavender are spilling out in burnt pieces everywhere and he's still smoking. So we discuss for a moment (remembering the time we used a tsp of water to put out a wax candle and saw it explode to the ceiling, where we STILL have soot damage), then he douses Jack the Bear with water. Nate then begins wailing, "Jack the Bear can't be in water. He'll be ruined!!!" (yes, he has wanted to take him swimming and bathing, and yes, that's what I told him). So we have to explain that Jack the Bear is already ruined…that he was on fire and we had to use water to put out the fire. That Jack the Bear couldn't sleep with him anymore. That microwaves are for Mommies and Daddies only. Nate begins to sob, heartbroken at the loss of one of his closest friends.

Catastrophe averted. No fire. Smoke is everywhere, but we opened some windows and it got better. Lincoln slept through the whole thing. Now back to bed. Without Jack the Bear. Without the friend he's slept with every single night since Christmas. No, it wasn't going over too well. And here I am, trying to maintain MY composure and not break down at the heartbreak he's enduring. Yes, it's *only* a stuffed animal. But it was HIS stuffed animal and HIS friend. And he's experiencing the first real loss he's ever had. So I start digging through the basket of other stuffed animals, trying to find something else he can sleep with. We come up with Donald Duck and it seems that the crisis is averted. He asks to sleep with me and I remind him that it's not his birthday (we only have a full-size bed). More tears. I talk with him a little more, getting his attention on to other things and decide, hey! He just suffered a trauma! So I brought my pillows in and laid down with him in his bed. He then proceeded to smile and talk, and be the sweet, adorable Nate that I love and adore. Then, "But I MISS my Jack the Bear!" and the tears started again. Another time he said, "But he de ONLY Beah dat I have!" And then, "Four is TOO MANY!" (minutes). This cycle continued off and on for another twenty minutes. Very heart-wrenching. If I could have gone out and purchased another one to bring home, I would have, even though it was past ten o'clock at this point. Then he calmed down again. He was lying on his side, stroking my hair (and I'm trying to not drift off to sleep…), and said, "Mommy? Know what?" "What, dear?" "You look like a bear." "Hmmm. Really?" "Yeah, you look like my TEDDY BEAR!" with a big hug to me. Wow! I guess I can look like a teddy bear if it means that he can cope and finally get some sleep.

So, Nate finally drifted off to sleep and I climbed back into my bed, grateful that no one was hurt, that the microwave still worked, and that a lesson was learned (never ever use the microwave by yourself).

So what did I do as soon as I woke up Sunday morning? Why, I got online and found another Jack the Bear to be delivered within the week! I thought about the situation and how when we lose someone we love, we can't bring them back via an online shopping cart. Then I thought some more and decided that I'd teach that lesson when the time came, but since I could bring back his loved one, I would! And the hope of another Jack the Bear got us through a few nights until the replacement came...and oh, was Nate thrilled!

I just thought I'd share what a tough little guy I have.