Mine Now Hers

The summer before 6th grade, Olivia (a lady who was at our house a lot growing up, I don't really know why...) gave this elephant to me. I had never been a stuffed animal kind of gal, but for some reason I took a liking to it. I slept with it. I lounged on it. I took it to ROS (Resident Outdoor School). I took it on sleepovers. I claimed it helped me sleep better because I would sleep with it between my arms so my shoulders wouldn't hurt. I had it all through high school (I was made fun of by multiple people, millions of times). I took it to college. I even slept with it the first couple weeks of my marriage, again claiming it helped my shoulders. Needless to say, Tim quickly put an end to that and threw "Ellers," as I called him, out of the bed.

We have moved several times since our first little apartment and everytime I pack up Ellers I long for him back and Tim threatens to throw him in trash. So far, Ellers has made it through 4 moves.

The other day while cleaning out under the guest bed, I found Ellers stuffed in a plastic bag. I pulled him out, fluffed him up and went upstairs to where Claire was playing and handed her the grey fluffy beast. She softly stroked his trunk, examined his ears and chewed on his eyeball. She snuggled twice, got up, and started dragging him around the house by his trunk.

She now uses Ellers as a pillow, a stool, a blanket and a mattress. She wrestles with him and then drapes clothes around his neck, obviously playing the beginings of dress-up. She really likes Mr. Ellers. I think they are pretty good friends. And that makes me happy.