The Fairies

So i don't know if most kids attach to some kind of Lovey object. I don't think i did. I was the kind of kid who felt guilty if i left one of my stuffed animals off my bed at night, so i would often go to bed, piled high with bears and whales (i liked them) and whatnot. I have kept one white bear that has been added to Raelin's significant pile, but i can't say that it's a lovey per se...

And, i'm not sure if Raelin's Fairies are her Lovies either... I mean, can 2 pint-size natty fairies be that are always crying and sick be considered Lovies? I thought the purpose of a Lovey was to provide comfort. In this case, we're the ones who are providing the comfort. These Fairies cry *all the time*. For example:

I will be innocently making tea. Enter Raelin.

Kelly (hear: Telly), can you hear my Fairy crying?
No, Raelin, I can't hear your Fairy crying.
You can't?
No, I can't.
Well, here, listen. (she thrusts her small, round pink-striped Fairy in my face) NOW can you hear her crying?
Well, ok, yes i can.
Is she screaming?
I don't think so.
Yes she is. She's screaming very loud.
Ok, she's screaming very loud.
Or is she whimpering?
No, i think she's screaming.
Will she ever stop?
I don't know, what will make her feel better?
Nothing, nothing will make her feel better.
Really? never ever?
Never ever. She will always be crying and screaming.
Ok then... so... do you need a snack?

This conversation happens in various forms about, oh, 20 times a day. at least.

This whole Fairy thing happened very... organically. Subtly. I think the pink-striped round fairy with antennae was actually a Christmas ornament. Kevin's mom bought her one year when they were visiting in December. Whether she is truly an ornament or not, i'm not sure. The hanging ribbon is long gone. But she fits in the palm of your hand, is all soft, and has a little rattle inside. And since Raelin more or less carries her around all day, you always know where she is because you hear the rattle-rattle of Round Fairy. Then there's another one. She's a small finger puppet, with stringy yarn hair and a rather rectangular, frankly masculine-shaped face. Striped legs... kind of a cross between Tinker-bell, the Wicked Witch of the West and what's-his-name from the Sopranos.

Quite a thing for a 3 year old's Lovey, huh?

Anyway, she rescued the Round Fairy from the tree (her terms)- saying something to the effect of, "she'll never be on the tree again." Tinker-Witch-Mafia Fairy materialized shortly after, and the 3 of them have been inseparable. And woe-is Liam if he hazards a grab at the Fairies!! Occasionally she'll leave them in a place he can reach when she goes to school and you should see the grin on his face when he grabs one of them- Score!!! The Forbidden Fairies! He laughs, maniacally.

I find the Fairies tucked into my bed, side by side, covers pulled up tight under their chins. They're wrapped in silks and blankets and carefully laid on top of the cubbies, or on the sink counter for tub-time. In months, a day has not gone by that those Fairies have not been along for the ride, pretty much every minute. She asks for them if they are left behind on outings (those kid will look at my Fairies!!), and searches for them first thing in the morning. We leave her sound asleep in bed every night, the Fairies held loosely in her limp hands, or curled neatly under her chin. It's pretty precious.

The strange thing about them is their attitude. Like i said, they are always either crying, or sick. (Or so it's reported to us.) We do endless puppet shows (aka acting out stories with her many and varied stuffed animals) about the Fairies being sick and needing to be doctored, being sick and never getting better, crying and not stopping, and variation upon variation.

Believe me, i have tried to break the cycle. I tell stories where other animals come and cheer them up. She intervenes. I tell stories where the Lamb Doctor and Gibbon Surgeon miraculously cure the Fairies of their Woes. She informs me that that could never happen, they will always be sick. I tell stories where Elephant and Purple Bear tell the Fairies flat out that they are boring and will not play with them. This occasionally brings the Fairies around for a time, but then they revert back to being sick and crying.

is our kid whacko, or what? Lol....

Honestly, Kevmo and i wondered if perhaps there was some underlying psychological issue. Why are they always crying? what's with being sick all the time?
But we've given up on that theory.

Likely it's because she's rebelling against our constant efforts to cheer up and make the Fairies healthy. Ahhhh... the beauty of parent-child relations!

I'll be sad when the Fairies are laid to rest. True, they can be annoying and I live in mild fear that they will be Lost Never to be Found, and then we'll really have some crying around here. But like some of Raelin's toddler clothes that i handed down the other day... the worn cords with embroidered flowers that she wore almost daily... they're the symbols of a Time. I often pooh-pooh the whole saving-toys thing, but the Fairies, I will keep. I will tuck them into a nice box, wrapped in a playsilk where they can keep each other company (whimpering, of course).