The one in which a bunny is lost, a family grieves, a mother feels guilty, and a child makes a new friend.
Last Monday we had one of our worst days - No-No was lost and we were pretty sure it was for good this time. We couldn't find him at bedtime the night before but Julia was so tired that she was alright going to bed without him.
But the next morning was a different story - we needed to find No-No! We searched the house, no luck. We searched the cars, no luck. We searched the yard, no luck. We searched everything again, no luck. So we began retracing our steps. On Sunday we had been out at the doctor's office and running errands and I distinctly remembered Julia bringing No-No into the car and having a bad feeling about it but not saying anything because she was sick and I didn't want to upset her.
So now I'm sick to my stomach thinking that he fell out of the car somewhere and I didn't see it. So we drove back to all the places we had been, combing the parking lots around where we parked and checking the lost & founds. No luck.
We arrived back home a mess. Julia was crying, I was crying, Benjamin was a bit bewildered but not helping the situation because all he would say was "no-no? where's no-no?" so right when I thought I had Julia on a different topic, we would start all over again.
We had a long conversation about how No-No was probably on an adventure, how maybe there was someone else who needed him now. At one point, through her tears, Julia said "I hope No-No is with someone and not alone while he's lost." At which point I cried harder for my empathetic little girl. (I'm tearing up again just writing this!).
That afternoon we took a trip to a toy store to find another special friend. Maybe jumping the gun a bit, but it had been a very long morning and we needed a diversion and something to make us feel better. So off we went. On the way there, Julia said "maybe we'll find another friend exactly like No-No." So there was another round of conversation about No-No being unique and irreplaceable (I know this for a fact after spending many hours over the past couple of years searching stores and the internet for another one) but how we could find another friend that was special in its own way.
Thankfully, we did find a suitable animal at the store - a cute, chocolate colored bunny who was promptly named Co-Co No-No. There was still some sadness but we were getting through the day. On the way home there was another conversation about No-No that went like this:
Julia: I miss No-No
Me: I know but remember I think he's off on an adventure exploring new things.
Julia: I think he's playing hide-and-seek…. a really hard hide-and-seek… in the basement. Do you know how to play hard hide-and-seek, Mom?
Me: No, Julia. I'm sorry. No-No must be really good at it because Daddy and I both tried very hard to find him.
Julia: I think he's really good at it.
Me: Maybe. We'll just have to see.
Things were overall ok for the rest of afternoon and evening. I think Andrew and I felt the worst. We were both exhausted and drained and feeling like awful parents for losing No-No. Bedtime was a little rough but Julia eventually went to sleep with Co-Co No-No and a three foot shark she had scored at IKEA a couple of days before.
After bedtime I headed downstairs and started cleaning up a bit. I brought a couple of things to the basement to put away and on my way back up the stairs I noticed a box under a basket… and in the basket I spotted a red truck. Suddenly, a conversation I had with Julia the day before flashed back to me:
Julia: I need to find the front to this truck
Me: It's downstairs, in the basement, go and get it.
AHA. So I grabbed the box - no luck. My heart sinks. But I take out the truck and there, under a doll blanket, is another box. A little plastic box that's closed. I open it and squished in with about 200 pom poms is No-No!
Honestly, I cannot remember the last time I have felt such tremendous relief. I ran upstairs and Andrew and I were practically jumping for joy. I bounded up the stairs to the kids' bedroom to give him to Julia, anticipating some great reaction. However, she was still sick (hence the doctor visit the previous day) and we had given her Benedryl before bed. She was out like a light. There was no waking her. I couldn't believe it!
I had to wait until the next morning for the reaction - which did come and was as delighted as I expected. She was incredibly surprised and very thankful. And now she has two special No-Nos to love.
The End.
ps. No-No is now banned from playing hide-and-seek!
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