Tuesday, March 19, 2024

The Bear Necessity

My friend Lynsie and I sometimes buy each other beautiful offerings from the thrift store and leave them on one another’s porches. In 2014, I found a ceramic bear on my porch holding a bag of lemon bars from Schmidt’s Pastries. 

Zoe was just under two years old, and she fell in love with that bear. 

She carried it around like a stuffed animal, and that thing got dragged all over the house for a few years. At some point, the bear broke, but we don’t remember how it happened. We just know it was devastating.

Last year, I was in my neighbor’s basement, and I saw this:

It was the same bear!

I took a picture and sent it to Lynsie, telling her I found a replacement bear, and I was gonna steal it!

(I’m a big talker. I didn’t steal the bear).

Sadly, my neighbor and long-time friend is now moving. On Saturday, she was having a yard sale, and at 7:00 that morning, I suddenly remembered the bear in her basement. I texted her the photo of her bear and asked if she was selling it. I don’t know if it was included in her original yard sale plans, but she said she would sell it to me! I promised to explain to her why I wanted to buy her bear and why I had a photo of it (creepy). 

Later that morning, we walked over to the yard sale to get the bear. Not only did she save the bear for me, she saved his friend! So I bought two coordinating, ceramic bears and brought them home along with a wagon, a beach tent, and a set of dominoes that I snagged before Papa G across the street could. 

My girls were so excited about the bears. Zoe remembered her love for “Beary,” our former bear of note, and she recognized the likeness of new guy right away. Eva named the other bear Harry, so now we have Beary and Harry, and they live in a cardboard apartment.

This probably wasn’t what my friend envisioned when I asked to buy her bear, but I’m glad she went along with it! I promise they will be loved and cherished for a long time!

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