To Trixie With Love
"Your friend is your needs answered."
-- Kahlil Gibran
In this life, not all friends are created equal. Friends come and go, based on the time of life, your environment, based on silly phases, fun phases and not-so-fun phases. They all do serve their purpose.
But, then, there are those special friends. Friends that can last a lifetime.
This is a story about the latter. It's a true love story. If you met my daughter, you would not doubt her love for Trixie.
Trixiewithlove
Trixie is my daughter's doll. She was Adelaide's first birthday gift. As Adelaide grew up, Trixie had many of the same experiences as my daughter. When Adelaide tried peanut butter for the first time, so did Trixie. When Adelaide got in the bath, she did her darnedest to bring Trixie in with her.
Trixie had birthday parties, Christmas mornings, got new clothes, and Adelaide was once absolutely petrified to find Trixie in the washing machine. She knew that wasn't safe. What kind of monster's are her parents? To put her best friend in the WASHING MACHINE!!!
Each year, Trixie lost a bit of stuffing here, stitches added there, and after a few years, Trixie's rips could no longer be patched. Her seams could no longer be mended.
We received many well-intentioned ideas of how to wean Adelaide away from her friend.
But it all seemed so cruel. Trixie was part of our family.
Now, she is a tattered mess. She is still used just as much as when Adelaide first got her. As a true member of our family, I wanted to write this letter to Trixie, to show my appreciation for a wonderful friend:
Dear Trixie,
You have been the favorite companion of my daughter for over 5 years now. Adelaide has not slept without you in that time. Not once. You have been on many adventures, and the truth is, you’ve seen better days - in fact, let’s just be honest: You have very little time left. Trixie7
There was the one time, 3 years ago, we tried to replace you with another cleaner, more sterile Trixie. You see, you were ALWAYS getting lost, and we were NOT allowed to clean you - so, in all honesty, you grossed us out and gave us headaches. But what you have done for our daughter is something spectacular. But Adelaide was suspicious from the get-go. It wasn't long before Adelaide spotted your leg popping out of a box in the top of a closet.
My wife and I still have nightmares about the vacation when we left you in a restaurant and Santa Fe. We were 2 hours removed before we noticed. It was a really tough decision, but before Adelaide even knew you were gone, we spelled our way to a conclusion - We have to go back for T-R-I-X-I-E!
On a very memorable night, our third child was born. Adelaide immediately
trixie4 decided that Uma needed her own Trixie, so she sweetly gave the replacement Trixie to Uma, to comfort her, as you had always comforted Adelaide.
So, thank you you have helped my daughter work through fears, anxiety and other complex emotions. You were that stable force that she needed when we moved to a new home. When we paid $40 for you at blablakids.com - we had no idea what we were really getting. So, I ask of you now Trixie, as your end looms near, in the immortal words of Dylan Thomas:
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
-- Kahlil Gibran
In this life, not all friends are created equal. Friends come and go, based on the time of life, your environment, based on silly phases, fun phases and not-so-fun phases. They all do serve their purpose.
But, then, there are those special friends. Friends that can last a lifetime.
This is a story about the latter. It's a true love story. If you met my daughter, you would not doubt her love for Trixie.
Trixiewithlove
Trixie is my daughter's doll. She was Adelaide's first birthday gift. As Adelaide grew up, Trixie had many of the same experiences as my daughter. When Adelaide tried peanut butter for the first time, so did Trixie. When Adelaide got in the bath, she did her darnedest to bring Trixie in with her.
Trixie had birthday parties, Christmas mornings, got new clothes, and Adelaide was once absolutely petrified to find Trixie in the washing machine. She knew that wasn't safe. What kind of monster's are her parents? To put her best friend in the WASHING MACHINE!!!
Each year, Trixie lost a bit of stuffing here, stitches added there, and after a few years, Trixie's rips could no longer be patched. Her seams could no longer be mended.
We received many well-intentioned ideas of how to wean Adelaide away from her friend.
But it all seemed so cruel. Trixie was part of our family.
Now, she is a tattered mess. She is still used just as much as when Adelaide first got her. As a true member of our family, I wanted to write this letter to Trixie, to show my appreciation for a wonderful friend:
Dear Trixie,
You have been the favorite companion of my daughter for over 5 years now. Adelaide has not slept without you in that time. Not once. You have been on many adventures, and the truth is, you’ve seen better days - in fact, let’s just be honest: You have very little time left. Trixie7
There was the one time, 3 years ago, we tried to replace you with another cleaner, more sterile Trixie. You see, you were ALWAYS getting lost, and we were NOT allowed to clean you - so, in all honesty, you grossed us out and gave us headaches. But what you have done for our daughter is something spectacular. But Adelaide was suspicious from the get-go. It wasn't long before Adelaide spotted your leg popping out of a box in the top of a closet.
My wife and I still have nightmares about the vacation when we left you in a restaurant and Santa Fe. We were 2 hours removed before we noticed. It was a really tough decision, but before Adelaide even knew you were gone, we spelled our way to a conclusion - We have to go back for T-R-I-X-I-E!
On a very memorable night, our third child was born. Adelaide immediately
trixie4 decided that Uma needed her own Trixie, so she sweetly gave the replacement Trixie to Uma, to comfort her, as you had always comforted Adelaide.
So, thank you you have helped my daughter work through fears, anxiety and other complex emotions. You were that stable force that she needed when we moved to a new home. When we paid $40 for you at blablakids.com - we had no idea what we were really getting. So, I ask of you now Trixie, as your end looms near, in the immortal words of Dylan Thomas:
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.