Rest In Peace, Lumpy

This is a sad post. This is a memorial post. A post paying respect to a member of my family that I'm just not sure we'll do well without. He was loved and cherished and we had high hopes for him just as any parent would for their child.

This post is for Lumpy, may he rest in peace, wherever he is.

Paul and I loaded up the girls to head down to the Ala Moana mall this morning. Nothing special, just a normal Saturday. We were in search of winter clothing. A pea coat for me and some jeans for Paul. We weaved our way in and out of stores, stopped for a quick bite and continued the search.

Eva and Izzy sat patiently in the stroller both being very well behaved, for the most part. Eva couldn't make up her mind whether or not she wanted to hold Lumpy. She'd ask for him, hold him for a while and then ask for one of us to take him. He rode in Izzy's side of the stroller for a bit while I carried her but was happy to take his place back in Eva's lap when Izzy got back in. Point is, Lumpy didn't stay in his usual spot in Eva's arms the whole time. Eva was antsy and Lumpy was an afterthought for a big chunk of the outing.

When we loaded up the girls to head home, we didn't even think to look for Lumpy. It's always assumed that he's with Eva. When we got home, we gently pulled our sleeping babies out of their car seats and laid them in their beds. Izzy immediately turned to her side, cuddled her blanket and drifted back to sleep. Eva, on the other hand, turned over to cuddle with Lumpy only to discover that he wasn't there.

No biggie. He's probably in the car. Paul called down to me to go grab him from the car and I slipped on my shoes, walked out to car, opened the door and began the search. Lumpy was no where to be found.

We've looked everywhere. Every possible place he could be. He's gone.

This isn't a total travesty as I did purchase a back up Lumpy about a year ago from Ebay, but still. I had hoped to keep the original Lumpy forever. When Eva outgrew him, I had planned to put him in her memory box, all tattered, washed and un-stitched. But that just won't happen now.

I'll just have to wash Lumpy II a few dozen times before he has the same worn in, loved look about him that I cherished so much about Lumpy I. A kind of velveteen rabbit type look. Poor thing was hardly recognizable as the purple elephant from Winnie the Pooh anymore.

Anyway, we would appreciate your thoughts during this time of grief for our family. Although we're so grateful for Lumpy II, Lumpy I is just irreplaceable.