Do you still have yours?

Loveys.

You've seen the fear in the eyes of a mom who just realized that Lovey is at home when she desperately needs it for her screaming child in the middle of aisle four, right?

Annika adores her Lovey. It is soft, pink, fluffy, and very well-loved.

(Thanks to my wonderful gift-giving friend Anna for the gift of Lovey when Butterbean arrived!)

In fact, when I realized that Annika loved her Lovey as much as I did, I ordered two more so that I would never experience the above-mentioned fear.

[ By the way the three Lovey trick fails once your all knowledgeable toddler realizes that you have two more (TWO MORE, MOMMY?!?) in her sock drawer.]

Anyway, recently Annika found my Lovey, otherwise known as a very loved Raggedy Ann doll. My mom received Raggedy Ann as a gift the Christmas before I was born. She planned my nursery, clothing, and dishes (still have these too!) around the theme. Raggedy Ann slept with me throughout my childhood, then to college, and she even moved with me to my first apartment. I've never been without her for long.

She's wounded and falling apart, but aren't we all?

I completely broke into tears when Annika saw Raggedy Ann on her shelf and asked, "Who's that, Mommy?" She immediately wanted to hold her, mend her many boo-boos, and has slept with her every night since.



I know that Raggedy Ann will fall apart before Annika passes her to her own children, but a mom can hope, right?

Who can I turn to? 867-5309

I suppose that every working mother has a fear of missing out on something in her child's life due to her career. I know that I do. It was much worse in the beginning . . . believe it or not it gets better once your child can actually communicate what happened during her day.

i.e. Me: Annika how was your day at school?

Butterbean: Atticus screamed at me, and I pushed Atticus down because I had the Weeble Wobbles first! We went to library too, Mommy.

Nice summarizing skills, huh?

These days, the biggest reason that I feel less guilt about leaving my precious little girl every Monday through Friday is Jenni.

Jenni is the owner of Urban Explorers Preschool, and we are fortunate that she is also Annika's teacher. I first met Jenni at a community parent event. She was there advertising her soon-to-be-opened daycare in a bordering neighborhood. She was passionate, fun, and excited about her new endeavor. It just so happened that I had just received a new job and had three weeks to find a new daycare. We reserved the second to last spot the next week!

Why do I adore Jenni? She does this every single day:

(This is one of her 2008 journal entries.)

And she documented when my toddler made a pattern on her own a couple of weeks ago...

. . . and last week she saved this for me. Annika's first drawing of a person is in the top right corner.

Do I often wish I could spend every day playing, creating, imagining, drawing, singing, reading, and dancing with my sweet little Butterbean?

Of course!

But in the meantime, I'm sure glad that we have Jenni.