A man's best friend

A post from The Daddy Man:

When Kimmy and I bought our house, my Mom saw it as an opportunity to give back all the things I left at her house. I got trophies, baseball cards, toys, pictures and most importantly, my stuffed blue bear Bobo.

Before Biscuit was even an idea, we built a shelf in the smallest bedroom upstairs (that later became his nursery) to hold some of our childhood treasures, including Bobo. The shelf runs the length of one wall, and it's about 18 inches from the ceiling. And of course with it being out of reach, it makes it oh-so-desirable to Biscuit.

He's wanted to get his hands on Bobo ever since he could say "blue bear." And a couple of weeks ago, I finally gave in.

Bobo has been my friend since I was a toddler. My Mom and I were shopping at J.J. Newberry's, and we came across a rack of stuffed animals. I hand-picked Bobo, and my Mom got him for me. We've been tight ever since.

I slept with him every night, so he needed to be washed. After he came out of the washer, he wouldn't dry. The stuffing inside him just refused to lose the moisture. So my Mom took him apart, restuffed him and put him back together again. He used to be skinnier, but when she put the new stuffing in, my Mom fattened him up a bit. It didn't matter, though, because he was still Bobo.

"Dad, I wish you were still a little boy," Biscuit said.

"Why?" I asked him.

"So you could play with that blue bear, and that blue bear could be friends with Puppy," Biscuit said.

He had asked before about taking Bobo down off that shelf. But this time, he came up with a different strategy. He thought he would trick me into taking Bobo down under the guise of having a double-date with him and Puppy and me and Bobo.

I finally took Bobo down, and Biscuit immediately asked to sleep with him. I told him that Bobo has been on that shelf for quite a while, so he could sleep next to the bed, but not in the bed.

Biscuit has been very gentle handling Bobo, so I've let him spend time with him.

"Dad, I'm going to stay friends with Puppy the same way you've stayed friends with Bobo," Biscuit said.