"Lover"
For someone whose life revolves around plush in large measure, I have purchased remarkably few in the last couple of years; two dozen at most. One reason is that I live in a rural area with few stores that carry a good selection of plush. Another reason is that many manufacturers nowadays simply don't make the large, cuddly creations I favor anymore. (You know me - if I can't cuddle it, for the most part, I'm not interested.) Other sources, like eBay, have proven so disappointing in the past that I rarely bother to search there anymore. Then, last December, a listing showed up for a fawn plush with the accompanying picture:
At first I thot this was just another Disney Bambi clone, of which I have literally dozens. But tho this little deer was Bambi-like, he clearly wasn't 'just' a Bambi. Looking at the picture in the eBay ad, there was something about this fawn that I couldn't quite put my finger on that intrigued me. He seemed to have a real presence about him. So I had to have him. Still, my expectations weren't high. Too many times I'd seen a plush on eBay that looked wonderful in the picture and then found myself being disappointed when I finally received it.
That wouldn't be the case this time, tho. Oh, no no no! As I lifted my new deer out of his cramped box, he literally unfurled into my arms, and as I felt the full measure of his exquisite softness and saw the gorgeousness of his features, I swooned and whispered out loud, "Oh, Lover!" Thus was he instantly named...
I was immediately smitten. Totally smitten. It had been many years since I had fallen so completely in love with a plush at first sight. I petted him, kissed him, and cuddled him nonstop. I couldn't put Lover down! Snuggling him, or just setting eyes on him, I felt the same warm honey glow of love that I've felt for people I've truly loved. I totally adored him. Yet, as strong as my feelings were for him, I knew right away that Lover was not 'that kind' of lover. From the start, I placed him in my highest hierarchy of plush companions: my 'protectors'.
My plush protectors are those who give me a strong feeling of security when I look at them and when they look at me. I acknowledge - this is an entirely subjective phenomenon - but my plush protectors give me an intrinsic sense of security when they are in my presence, and I in theirs. From Nite 1, I perched Lover on the pillow next to mine. Gazing up at him and seeing him gaze back at me...I don't know how else to say it...is a magical experience. None of my past protectors have given me such a strong feeling of being watched over like Lover does.
Lover has one truly uncanny quality, which is that it seems like no matter how I pose him when I go to bed, when I wake up, I find that he has moved during the nite, and is now staring straight at me, always with an expression of purest benevolence on his face. Nite after nite, nap after nap, it almost never fails...when I open my eyes, the first thing I see is Lover's adoring gaze. I have loved so many plush in my life, but with Lover, for the first time ever, I get the feeling that a plush genuinely loves me back.
I've really needed this sense of being loved and watched over lately, as things haven't been going all that well for me in RL. But one look at Lover, especially when I wake up in the morning and see his glowing, adoring face - I can't help but feel an emotional boost. :)
For in all of my life, the most exultant joy I have ever known has been the pure and simple love of plush animals.
It is the superlative experiential miracle of my existence. It is my true earthly salvation.
Thank you, my Lover, for coming to me when I needed you the most.
Praise be to plush, forever and always.
Amen.