Pooh on the Brain

I've been thinking a lot about Winnie-the-Pooh lately; that dear "bear of little brain" is is on MY brain--especially because my darling granddaughter Bonny has a stuffed Pooh that is always in her crib when she goes to sleep.  Pooh usually comes out of the crib with her at wake-up time, too, along with her little fleece blanket.  And when she carries her Pooh Bear around (dragging her blankie, Linus-style), I am reminded of this wonderful vintage drawing of Christopher Robin and his silly old bear.

A sleepy-eyed, post-nap Bonny, carrying her beloved Pooh and blanket.

But it's not just Bonny who makes me think of Pooh and his friends from the Hundred Acre Wood.  Her twin, Kewpie, needs to connect with you physically from time to time; even when she's happily playing, she'll take frequent breaks to sidle up to you and slide down onto your lap if you're sitting on the floor, or she'll come and rest her head on your lap if you're sitting on the couch.  Oftentimes she'll back into you so that you have no choice but to put your arms around her and give her a squeeze (which--trust me--you'd want to do anyway!). The way she keeps coming back for affirmation that you're still there reminds me of this little snippet written by an absolute genius named A. A. Milne:

 Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind.  "Pooh? he whispered.
"Yes, Piglet?"
"Nothing," said Piglet, taking Pooh's hand.  "I just wanted to be sure of you."

The day after tomorrow, I leave bright and early to head back home to my house and my husband, after being out here in Colorado for more than two weeks.  I'ts going to be awfully hard saying goodbye to my sweet little granddaughters.  But as Winnie-the-Pooh so aptly put it, "How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard."  (I love that quote.  I've used it before in this blog...and I wouldn't put it past me to use it again sometime in the future!)