everybody's got something to hide except me and my Monkey
What would life be like without the occasional snow day?
Mom told me not to set my alarm, because Carley would call her before six if Yonkers was cancelled. I woke up at eight, looked at the clock, and screamed "SNOW DAY!".
Who cares if I'm no longer the student? I was still thrilled.
Kelsey and Alexa heard my shriek and ran into my room. "Scooch over!" "Scooch over!" They both climbed into my queen-sized bed with me and we blasted Familiar to Millions and giggled and altogether made so much noise that Mom could hear us in the kitchen downstairs.
After having three people in my bed, I have come to the conclusion that I sleep with far too many stuffed animals.
There's the infamous Monka, who used to look like Curious George but was loved literally almost to death. He's tattered and worn and somewhat misshapen, but I'd feel like a traitor if I left him out on the cold windowseat all night. My parents make fun of me for not throwing him out (and used to make me put him through the laundry), but he is my Friend! annoisy, puffygerbil, and pinknari probably remember the days when "MONKAFH" was my main screenname. Once when I was young and trying to climb the Pyramid of the Sun in Teotihuacan, my dad told me that I could make it to the top if I used my "Monka power". And I did.
There's Monkey, which some of you would remember from CTY last summer (and who had an enjoyable inter-species relationship with pinkhaired_girl's Panda). When I close my eyes and hug him I can almost pretend I'm still at CTY.
There's Uncle Norman, named after a relative on my father's side (now deceased). He's a big friendly lion. When I was little, Lauren and David used to sing a funeral dirge that made me cry: "And Uncle Norman died, at a hundred and five, and nobody cried, nobody cried." They were evil.
There's Alice, the smaller lion. (I really liked lions. And monkeys. I have more than ten monkeys, but I don't sleep with them all anymore.) My parents say she used to have a different name, but if so I don't remember.
There's Delphinium, a dolphin that I've had for years and years. Once when I was afraid to go to sleep because I'd had horrible dreams the night before, Dad told me he was making Delphinium "magic" so that I wouldn't have any more bad dreams. Somehow I have trouble imagining that she'll ever not be in my bed.
There's Holly, a beige seal with brown spots that was the first stuffed animal I *ever* bought for myself. $8.95 at the Mystic Aquarium when I was eight. She's named after the Language Arts teacher I had at the time.
There's Sarah, Kelsey's seal that looks like a mini version of Holly. Years ago we decided that Holly was Sarah's mommy and they would be sad if they were separated, so I took Sarah on "permanent loan", and she's never gone back. I used to bring her on trips a lot because she's so small... but only after my parents forced me to leave Monka at home on the grounds that he might disintegrate.
There's my Brown bear, which Mom ordered overnight a few days after I got in. I think he's good luck. And he's awfully friendly.
There's my Middlebury bear, named Paravel for some reason (Narnia), which is blue and cuddly. I'd feel bad taking him out of the bed just because I'm not going to be a Midd kid. I've known him longer than Brown Bear, too.
There's Waddle, an early Beanie Buddy (not the little Beanie Babies, the big soft Buddies -- shut up). She's a cute penguin. She'd be offended if I didn't include her. I sleep with two other Beanie Buddies: Pouch, an adorable kangaroo, and Ears, a fantastically floppy bunny rabbit. (annoisy probably remembers her from a certain biology review session in eighth grade.) They're all so soft, I couldn't ever give them up.
My stuffed animals occupy the other pillow on my bed. I like having things to cuddle at night, and since no people seem available I'm stuck with either the pillow or a lion. In our old house I used to sleep with every single animal I owned, and I'd put them on either side of me so that when I woke up I'd be in the middle of a stuffed animal tunnel. It was incredibly cozy. Alexa's in that bunk bed now, but I don't think she ever sleeps with more than one animal a night. She has a nifty rotating system where she lines them all up on the upper bed and switches off nightly.
Part of the problem was that I always believed stuffed animals and dolls were *alive*. I used to talk to them every night, and before I left for trips when I'd give every single one a goodbye kiss. When I got back I'd run into my room and shut the door and tell them all about my Adventures and ask them how things had been at home. Like Sara in A Little Princess, I was convinced that they moved when I wasn't looking.
I also always felt like they all wanted to be in bed with me, and they'd look at me balefully if I climbed into bed without them. There'd be nights when I'd wind up with twenty or thirty animals in my bed simply because they gave me these looks and I felt too guilty to leave them alone.
It is very hard to get twenty animals out of the bed in the morning, and when you try to pull the comforter up tight there are inevitably lumps -- the animals you missed.
I was a strange child.
I'm down to twelve animals these days, but I'd be willing to exchange them all for one solid cuddly person.
It was a lovely snow day. In the morning Mom paid Kelsey, Alexa, and I each to shovel the entire walkway to the office and we were rewarded with hot cocoa. I wrote three holiday cards. We cleaned up the schoolroom and made chocolate cupcakes, and Mom let each of us decorate them with M&Ms. In the evening I worked out and watched the new Friends, and now I've washed my hair and am planning out activities for the weekend. Life is Good. Also, postcard from wenzel from Thailand, and adorable card from eruanne!
Now I think it's time for some scandalous action, since I haven't had any in weeks.
Mom told me not to set my alarm, because Carley would call her before six if Yonkers was cancelled. I woke up at eight, looked at the clock, and screamed "SNOW DAY!".
Who cares if I'm no longer the student? I was still thrilled.
Kelsey and Alexa heard my shriek and ran into my room. "Scooch over!" "Scooch over!" They both climbed into my queen-sized bed with me and we blasted Familiar to Millions and giggled and altogether made so much noise that Mom could hear us in the kitchen downstairs.
After having three people in my bed, I have come to the conclusion that I sleep with far too many stuffed animals.
There's the infamous Monka, who used to look like Curious George but was loved literally almost to death. He's tattered and worn and somewhat misshapen, but I'd feel like a traitor if I left him out on the cold windowseat all night. My parents make fun of me for not throwing him out (and used to make me put him through the laundry), but he is my Friend! annoisy, puffygerbil, and pinknari probably remember the days when "MONKAFH" was my main screenname. Once when I was young and trying to climb the Pyramid of the Sun in Teotihuacan, my dad told me that I could make it to the top if I used my "Monka power". And I did.
There's Monkey, which some of you would remember from CTY last summer (and who had an enjoyable inter-species relationship with pinkhaired_girl's Panda). When I close my eyes and hug him I can almost pretend I'm still at CTY.
There's Uncle Norman, named after a relative on my father's side (now deceased). He's a big friendly lion. When I was little, Lauren and David used to sing a funeral dirge that made me cry: "And Uncle Norman died, at a hundred and five, and nobody cried, nobody cried." They were evil.
There's Alice, the smaller lion. (I really liked lions. And monkeys. I have more than ten monkeys, but I don't sleep with them all anymore.) My parents say she used to have a different name, but if so I don't remember.
There's Delphinium, a dolphin that I've had for years and years. Once when I was afraid to go to sleep because I'd had horrible dreams the night before, Dad told me he was making Delphinium "magic" so that I wouldn't have any more bad dreams. Somehow I have trouble imagining that she'll ever not be in my bed.
There's Holly, a beige seal with brown spots that was the first stuffed animal I *ever* bought for myself. $8.95 at the Mystic Aquarium when I was eight. She's named after the Language Arts teacher I had at the time.
There's Sarah, Kelsey's seal that looks like a mini version of Holly. Years ago we decided that Holly was Sarah's mommy and they would be sad if they were separated, so I took Sarah on "permanent loan", and she's never gone back. I used to bring her on trips a lot because she's so small... but only after my parents forced me to leave Monka at home on the grounds that he might disintegrate.
There's my Brown bear, which Mom ordered overnight a few days after I got in. I think he's good luck. And he's awfully friendly.
There's my Middlebury bear, named Paravel for some reason (Narnia), which is blue and cuddly. I'd feel bad taking him out of the bed just because I'm not going to be a Midd kid. I've known him longer than Brown Bear, too.
There's Waddle, an early Beanie Buddy (not the little Beanie Babies, the big soft Buddies -- shut up). She's a cute penguin. She'd be offended if I didn't include her. I sleep with two other Beanie Buddies: Pouch, an adorable kangaroo, and Ears, a fantastically floppy bunny rabbit. (annoisy probably remembers her from a certain biology review session in eighth grade.) They're all so soft, I couldn't ever give them up.
My stuffed animals occupy the other pillow on my bed. I like having things to cuddle at night, and since no people seem available I'm stuck with either the pillow or a lion. In our old house I used to sleep with every single animal I owned, and I'd put them on either side of me so that when I woke up I'd be in the middle of a stuffed animal tunnel. It was incredibly cozy. Alexa's in that bunk bed now, but I don't think she ever sleeps with more than one animal a night. She has a nifty rotating system where she lines them all up on the upper bed and switches off nightly.
Part of the problem was that I always believed stuffed animals and dolls were *alive*. I used to talk to them every night, and before I left for trips when I'd give every single one a goodbye kiss. When I got back I'd run into my room and shut the door and tell them all about my Adventures and ask them how things had been at home. Like Sara in A Little Princess, I was convinced that they moved when I wasn't looking.
I also always felt like they all wanted to be in bed with me, and they'd look at me balefully if I climbed into bed without them. There'd be nights when I'd wind up with twenty or thirty animals in my bed simply because they gave me these looks and I felt too guilty to leave them alone.
It is very hard to get twenty animals out of the bed in the morning, and when you try to pull the comforter up tight there are inevitably lumps -- the animals you missed.
I was a strange child.
I'm down to twelve animals these days, but I'd be willing to exchange them all for one solid cuddly person.
It was a lovely snow day. In the morning Mom paid Kelsey, Alexa, and I each to shovel the entire walkway to the office and we were rewarded with hot cocoa. I wrote three holiday cards. We cleaned up the schoolroom and made chocolate cupcakes, and Mom let each of us decorate them with M&Ms. In the evening I worked out and watched the new Friends, and now I've washed my hair and am planning out activities for the weekend. Life is Good. Also, postcard from wenzel from Thailand, and adorable card from eruanne!
Now I think it's time for some scandalous action, since I haven't had any in weeks.