Mending Blankets

I have a huge win - my laundry room desk is clean. It's been making small progress over the past few weeks and on Tuesday night we got it done 100%. Everything is cleared off except for several little superglue piles of dried glue that I think might be permanent (although I might consider taking a razor blade to attempt to chip them off...) So, with the laundry room desk clean, last night I was able to do some needed mending. Most things I don't bother with - clothes with holes go in the garbage - socks, pants, shirts... they're all goners. If they look somewhat redeemable they'll go in the thrift store donation box. But with most things it's easier to just buy used instead of trying to mend them, except we have one non-negotiable item that has to be repaired, for it cannot be thrown away and also cannot be replaced. They are Owen's baby blankets. Knowing how much he loved and was attached to them, last year I tried to find some back ups in case we ever needed a spare. I gave them to Owen for his birthday. He humored me that day and accepted them for a few days, but then he was like "Nope. Those 'new' blankets have not been with me through all my lonely nights... they cannot replace my original blankets, which, though tattered and worn, have proved themselves tried and true, and have bundled by me through thick and thin..." So, I still have those 4, and they all still look basically new. And Owen won't have anything to do with them. I've mended his old blankets two times already, cause they are ripping up as they keep getting more and more thin. I don't know what happened this past week but they got pretty ripped up this week and were almost in pieces. So last night, on my improved laundry room desk space, I was able to pull out the sewing machine and I layered the blanket over itself on the huge rips and sewed it up, and I basically rounded off the corners, which were un-redeemable and sewed them up. I did keep all the trim with tags. But I did wonder if I removed the tags, that maybe he would find them unacceptable and reject them? And maybe take the new ones? We'll save that strategy for another time, but it's a course I might pursue in the future. Owen is almost 3 and a half. We'll probably let him keep the blankets, but it might be time to make him lose the binkies, little buddy... The binkies make me question my parenting.

Owen takes naps and goes to bed with his binky, blanket, and Louie the Lion. It's hard to believe Louie has not even been with us a year - seems like he's always been there. I woke up at 4:30 in the morning a month or two ago, and I'm not sure what caused this thought or question to come into my mind, but as moved myself to the bed after having slept next to Owen on the floor for most of the night, I wondered - If we were to lose our little Owen (like my friends lost their little boy who would be Owen's age) would Louie go with Owen into the casket? Or would I want to keep him to hold and comfort me as I missed Owen? And I just started crying. The thought can make me cry again. I hope we don't lose you anytime soon. Your Louie will always remind me of you as our little boy. I might have to keep him when you grow up, he'll be on my shelf with the other stuffed animals of my children from days gone by. I need to put Natalie's baby leopard up there soon. I'll give you guys a few more years before I collect the stuffed animals to always remember the little you by.