When I was a child, I once threw my teddy out of my bedroom window in a fit of temper. We went on holiday the next day and I totally forgot that poor Teddy was lying in the garden. It rained a lot that summer. When I got back two weeks later and saw my soggy teddy looking so sad, I felt very guilty. My mum put him in the washing machine and this was almost worse, seeing him whirling around and around. This is my only surviving photo of my teddy when I was young.
I’m now feeling guilty again as I put Teddy in the loft years ago. A friend has just mentioned that her daughter left her cuddly toy outside and it’s reminded me; so I’ve been searching for my lost toy. I’ve found lots of my children’s old cuddly toys and puppets from my teaching days, but not Teddy, my constant companion when I was a toddler. Later on, he even came to uni with me: something to remind me of home. He had lost a lot of fur and was squished quite flat from being cuddled, but he was mine and I loved him.
Where is he now? It reminds me of Toy Story when poor Woody is discarded in favour of Buzz Lightyear; or when Mr Bean is looking for his teddy, then he is so overjoyed when he finds him, that he gives Teddy a new eye!
When I taught Personal, Social, Health and Citizenship Education (PSHCE), I’d often lead a discussion about what three items pupils would save in a disaster, if they had time. A lot of pupils mentioned technical gadgets, but others realised that these could be replaced.
I remember one lesson when a teenage boy bravely mentioned that he would save his cuddly toy. There were a few giggles from other kids which I quietened down. Then he explained that he was given the teddy by his grandma who had passed away. No-one teased him after that. Many of the boys and girls also admitted that they loved their cuddly toys and they were treasured possessions, as they had been through so much together. You can tell your hopes and dreams to a cuddly toy, you can share your fears and worries and disappointments, and they still smile.
