Froggie went missing for a few days last week---actually only 3 days. We cleaned up the house completely, looked in all the unlikely places we'd found Froggie before (in the tablecloth/napkin basket in the dining room, in the sleeping bag stored in our closet, underneath all the sinks, behind and under the couches...) We finally found him in Luke's room, under the pillow of the seat of his rocking chair. Fortunately, I hadn't yet purchased the one I found on ebay for a ridiculous price.
The most difficult thing about the whole episode (aside from cleaning the house, including the drawers in the bathrooms, the closets, etc.) was how much Luke missed and needed Froggie. He spent much more time sitting on my lap. He refused to say that Froggie was lost, but just"on vacation." At the beach. He told me every day that we needed to go to the beach. One day, as he was sitting on my lap, he told me "Froggie is on vacation. He's trying and trying and trying to get home, but he can't. He's trying as hard as he can. I hear him calling me..." And then, in his "baby voice," he called, "Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!" (Luke is Froggie's daddy, which makes me Grandma to a stuffed frog...) One night he woke up screaming that he heard Froggie downstairs calling for him, and would not be comforted. Michael finally had to leave him alone.
Suffice it to say that I am glad Froggie is found. I know that Luke will eventually leave this stage of life behind (although he may never leave Froggie), but he's not ready yet. With Froggie, he can play pretend in his room for 30 or more minutes. Without Froggie, he needs to sit on my lap a lot, be played with a lot, and he is more fragile.
We now have a policy that Froggie stays in Luke's room all the time. It's not a perfect rule---much of the pretend play with Froggie is curtailed. But right now, I just can't handle that big a loss in Luke's life.
The most difficult thing about the whole episode (aside from cleaning the house, including the drawers in the bathrooms, the closets, etc.) was how much Luke missed and needed Froggie. He spent much more time sitting on my lap. He refused to say that Froggie was lost, but just"on vacation." At the beach. He told me every day that we needed to go to the beach. One day, as he was sitting on my lap, he told me "Froggie is on vacation. He's trying and trying and trying to get home, but he can't. He's trying as hard as he can. I hear him calling me..." And then, in his "baby voice," he called, "Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!" (Luke is Froggie's daddy, which makes me Grandma to a stuffed frog...) One night he woke up screaming that he heard Froggie downstairs calling for him, and would not be comforted. Michael finally had to leave him alone.
Suffice it to say that I am glad Froggie is found. I know that Luke will eventually leave this stage of life behind (although he may never leave Froggie), but he's not ready yet. With Froggie, he can play pretend in his room for 30 or more minutes. Without Froggie, he needs to sit on my lap a lot, be played with a lot, and he is more fragile.
We now have a policy that Froggie stays in Luke's room all the time. It's not a perfect rule---much of the pretend play with Froggie is curtailed. But right now, I just can't handle that big a loss in Luke's life.
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