The Velveteen Horse (?)

When Masen was about 2 1/2 and I was pregnant with Dillon, we made trek to OKC for some reason or another, and on our way home stopped at a horse sale. (Can you IMAGINE CHRIS wanting to stop at a HORSE SALE??!! ha ha Anyway...) While Chris looked at horses, Sis and I looked at some of the booths that were set up by vendors. She came across a stuffed black horse. Well, naturally, she wants. She turned her big hazel eyes on her Daddy and he dished out the $$ for the appropriately named, "Blackie". The child had more toys and stuffed animals than should be allowed to any one child, so I thought Blackie would end up in the toybox like the rest. But here we are, seven years later, and I can count on one hand, LITERALLY, the number of times she has gone to bed without Blackie headlocked under her arm. That fact that he is indeed a horse is no longer distiguishable. His mane and tail are gone, she loved them off, and he is more floppy than floofy now. People who don't know, see him and say, WHAT is that supposed to be. But Blackie is a part of our family. He has his own little stuffed persona and has been known to travel in the front seat on trips and eat at the table with us. Sometimes I wake her up in the mornings by making Blackie "talk" and sing and dance to her. He also does a pretty mean swan dive from way up high if she doesn't get up soon enough. I was greeted EARLY this morning by being whacked in the head and hearing, "Here, hold Blackie...I have to go to the bathroom".

I know someday, alot sooner than I want, that she'll leave and I'll be the one holding Blackie and crying into his "fur". He knows it too and sometimes we give each other that secret look that lets us know we are in this together. But for now, she is still my girl little enough to need her Blackie, and Blackie, well, he's going into the wash!!