Paula's contribution: The three little girls were taught by their mother from a
very early age to make their beds almost as soon as they got up in the morning,
and certainly before they went downstairs for breakfast.
The oldest, who had a room all to herself, would plump the two
pillows at the head of her white wooden four-poster bed, and place her Raggedy
Ann doll lovingly in the center of the pillows. A place of pride for her
cherished childhood toy.
The second-oldest, who had to share a room with the youngest
girl, did not have a cherished toy, so to speak. Instead, she carried with her
everywhere a tattered blanket, worn and torn but well-loved nonetheless, the
corner of which she would curl beneath her nose, or her chin, for comfort, as
the situation warranted.
The youngest had no doll, nor blanket. What she had was her
thumb. Two of them, in fact! She sucked her thumb incessantly. She sucked her
thumb while she was reading. She sucked her thumb while watching television. She
sucked her thumb in bed at night. She sucked her thumb on long drives, where
she sat wedged between her two older sisters in the back seat of the family
station wagon.
Her mother thought she would grow out of this. But, when the
youngest was 6 and still sucking her thumb, her mother decided to take action.
She coated the child’s thumb with nasty-tasting medicine.
The youngest sucked, or washed, it off. She tied her thumb to her forefinger.
The youngest sucked the string along with her thumb. She put mittens on the
child. The youngest sucked her thumb through the wool. She sucked her own thumb
in front of the child, to demonstrate how silly it looked. The youngest asked
to taste her mother’s thumb. She cajoled, she bribed, she pleaded, she scolded.
The youngest just stared at her mother with her huge blue eyes, and with her
thumb in her mouth.
The oldest suggested cutting off the youngest girl’s thumbs.
The mother was horrified at this notion. The second-oldest casually added that probably
only one thumb would need to be cut off for the idea to work.
The mother turned to a psychologist, who said the youngest
obviously had an oral fixation that she would carry with her all her life. When
the thumb is no longer a respectable comfort as she ages, the doctor said, she
will drink by sucking on straws. She will eat with her hands so she can suck
her fingers clean. Either that, the psychologist said, or she will just stop
one day. The mother was unsatisfied with this answer.
In time, the three little girls grew, as girls do, and
became adults. The Raggedy Ann doll, dusty and missing an apron string, was
forgotten by the oldest, and was eventually boxed away and stored in the attic.
The blanket, in pieces from repeated washings over the years, was thrown away one
day and was not missed by the second-oldest.
But the thumb. Ah, the thumb. The youngest kept her thumbs
but no longer needed one in her mouth. Because she found something even better.
Much better, in fact.
And now, the man the youngest chose to love and honor all
the days of their lives is a very happy man, indeed.
Jackie's contribution:
Health Benefits of Teddy Bears By Snuffles and Mika Kim
For the past century, teddy bears have enjoyed immense popularity among the young at heart. What many people underestimate is the positive effect these bears have on your health. Not only do teddy bears make wonderful sleep time companions, they are also effective in alleviating many chronic health conditions such as anxiety, depression, insomnia, obesity, flatulence, and ear wax build-up.
Contrary to popular belief, teddy bears do not only come in the colour brown. There exist black, white, red, pink, and even blue bears. However, brown is the traditional colour and is what people seem to be most familiar with. No matter what the colour, teddy bears are beneficial for your health. It is the bear itself that is the effective component, not the colour.
Studies have shown that it is the cuteness and apparent attentiveness of the bear that affects change in a person'?s health status. Cuteness depends on how well-loved a bear appears, roundness of features, and amount of fat the bear possesses. Bears that look too new (e.g. like they have never been touched) or too worn (e.g. they have bits and pieces missing) are not considered as cute as bears that look like they've been slept on for a few years, and still have all of their vital organs (e.g. nose and eyeballs). Round and chubby features are best, but if the bear is too round it can be mistaken for a ball which then renders its health effect nil.
Apparent attentiveness is an important feature, because human owners (also known as parents) of the bears tend to find comfort in the fact that their bears are listening to them. That is what helps the human to feel like their health is improving - the attention factor. Thus, if you have a bear that can't sit up or is always looking at something else when you'?re talking to them, you should find a new bear. The best teddy bears are modeled after wild bears, with the same shape and perky ears. These teddy bears can sit on their bums and look you straight in the eye while you complain about how life sucks, and their round, chubby faces deliver compassion and empathy. However, as these types of teddy bears are quite small compared to wild bears, they are sometimes mistaken for pigs, especially if they are pink in colour. One should be careful to shield these bears from hearing such comments, as they then become angry and resentful, which decreases their ability to improve your health condition.
Teddy bears are the best companions to have because they provide help in a wide range of areas. They aren't only good for sleeping and cuddling, which is what most people think. They have also been known to help students prepare for speeches, throw surprise birthday celebrations, provide therapy, and dispose of leftover honey. And, despite working so hard, teddy bears don'?t need regular baths. Actually, they don't need baths at all! You should never wash your teddy bear, as washing also decreases their healing potential. This is a fact.
In recent years, imposters such as teddy ducks, teddy dogs, teddy cats, and even teddy cows have made an appearance. Don'?t be fooled, as these charlatans cannot heal the way teddy bears can. If you want to improve your health, teddy bears are the genuine article. If you REALLY want to improve your health, you should leave some cookies out for your teddy bears. Scientists are not sure how or why this works, but it does.
____________________________________________________________________
Monica's contribution
March 2018.
The secret iii'e of my Teddies.
i wouiri iike to introduce you to the magicai and secret ii{b of Bo Bear and Bruno.
Bo Bear is about 55 years oid anti Bruno about 30 years old , Bo bear is quite a iarge
tedciy bear rounci , wirh beiis in his ears and a growl sadiy over the years he seems to
have iost his growi he has a ioveiy smiiey face. And he has hati four quite serious
operations aii four pads repiace twice he was very brave especiaiiy the second time
when he was suddeniy wirisked of his iarge piiiows were he resides on the bed anci
with out a word oilvarning a huge needie was siuck inio his pacis.
iviy eariiest memory is si*ing on a sheif in a depanment store in Sutton High Street
Surrey In rhe toy departmeni. , as young as i rn'as i reaiiseri it must be Ciuisimas by tire
decorations and the music- piaying i was hoping someone wouiti buy me quickiy and i
wouiri go to a nice home be ioved anri treasured ior years , iots of te<idy's toys and
rioiis were disappearing of the sheives and my heart was begging to sink as i tiidt want
to be stuffed in a box and pui in a dark store room ior a year, these thoughts w'ere very
irighiening,
-fhe store was quire for the time of ,v-ear, anci the horrifying thoughts becoming more
reai when a nice taii man came in anci was giving my sheif a lot of attention the
assistant reached up and took a coupie of soft toys down for him to hoid and iook at
aiso a cioii very extravagately dressed i didt iike her much i haci tried to speak to her
just after midnight when we roys aii come aiive but she was so haughty she wouiti't
even answer me, no thank you i cant have the doii because I am buying something ior
our first baby that hast been born yet and in those far away rjays you di<it know w'har tcr
except , the nice man looked again aiong the sheive how did i miss that ioveiy bear
with his ioveiy smiiey iace, the assisted reached me ciow"n gave me a hug i iove him
she said to the nice man me too he saici i wiil take him, I w'as put in io a large box rviih
pienty of room , the box beauiiful wrappeci anci there i ha<i to stay untii Christmas tiay.
The excitemenr that greeted me on Christmas moming was woncierfui every one ioveci
me ihe mummy to be *-as tieiighieri with a present for thef'e unborn baby and the
grandparents to be w'ere equaily deiighted :;-u-
Cirristmas night i was raken up to the nursery a very posh worci for the iitiie box room
but is was'oeautiiuiiy decorated with a iemon and white crib aw-aiting this baby so
there i sat for a fbw w'eeks untii great joy the baby and mummy iraci arriveri home
from hospitai, anci Jane anti I became great friends she ioved me anci when she crie<i i
aiways reassured her mummy wouid be her.in a moment she i<now's you are hungry '
One day Jane anri I moved ro another room anti the Nursery was spnlced up for
another baby, this iime a boy, boih chiidren piayeci r.vith me but i dici beiong io Jane
and she was quite posiiive ab€at I was her tedtiy .
The years rglled by and I silent watcheri the joys the sorrows the iarniiy dramas iire
rows the heari breaks and suddenly jane was married , I didt move with her i stayed
with the parents and moved to their room. Anci suddeniy iife changed my worse
nightmare happened i was pui in io a box and stored for months. noi knowing whar
was happing.
AIier many monihs I was unpackeci anci put on a big bed, anci i reaiise<i iheir was no
husbanei just Jane's mum anci myseif Jane and Cari boih had their own piaces to
live how-i misseei the chiidren because i useri to taik to them at night sometimes
chastening them aboui their siii cluarrels .
However i siowiy began ro reaiise we in a very pretty iittie cottage in Keni wiiir a
iovely big garden i could see from the beci were i sat , the tears tirat were sheti at nighi
were distressing io say the iest, i missed the chiidren very much anci was very ionely,
"then one riay a iriend arrived for me whai excitement wiren were induceri to one
another and we chaned way in to rhe night he ha<i had quite an adventure zurd hati
traveiled ali the way from Canada with Jane's Liother iike me he was on a shelf for a
iirtie whiie insirie a big piastic bag can you beiier.e he toiti me he was terrified of
suiiocation aithough there lvas a tiny tear in tire bag much to Bruno reiief iane's
mother and iane had come in io the airpon shop i.o cio some souvenir shopping
because iane haci been snow skiing they hadn"t had an opportuniry beiore io shop
rogether it was mother thai saw me first Bnto u'as teliing me and she iilied me ciown
huggeri me and was saying to.iane i iove him they she put me back on the sheiino i
wanted ro scream, why Have you pur him back iane asked weii how ridicuious is thai
said her mother a women of over fiiry iaiiing in iove with a bear, bttt mum he is
beauiiiui he rvouid iook iovely iaying on your beci no perhaps a chiid wiii buy irim,
he his suoh a repiica of a biack bear and ire is so big how wiii i get him home he w'iii
go in the over head iocker Jane said looking arounri and buying gifts me holciing my
breathe please buy me and suddeniy they had paici for the gifts and waikeci out the
shop no i aimost cried out loud they joined the iine to board ihe plane suddeniy Jane
saici mum i meant ro get us a botiie of water anci she ran back in to the shop grabbeci
me off the shelve paid ior me ran back tiuough me in to her mothers arms and yeiied
so the whoie worlcl couici hear Fiappy Nelv year ivium. NIum cried i w"as indeeci
stuffed in rhe over head hoici but noi before a kind hostess took ihe bag oimy hearj
and said we don't wont your trear io suffocare up there .
So iiie joggeci on for many years and Bruno and i have become the best of frieniis soui
mates in fact we have seen many changes in this ioveiy cotiage a ielv iovers come anci
go and then suddeniy great excitement a weci<iing wili Jane's mother find happiness
again bur first we haci to go through the saddest year of Bruno and my iife"s i hari
aireariy experienced death but not Bruno , we reaiiseci something \e'as wrong as mother
was aw'ay a iot it is amazing rn'hat we bears pick up irom you humans .we
found out iane hari iiieci i was devastated how-couid this strong heaithy young w'oillen
oi 37 die the unborn baby i w-as bought for Bruno was a tou'er of strerrgth to nte over
that difticult year and once again ihe tears at night were distressing, Bruno was aiso
cievasiateci as Jane haci bought him for her mother .
Bruno comioned her as in his iaying ciown position.iane's moiher couiti cuddie him ai
nighi .and for many months our worids stood stiii .
zrncl then came the wedciing great excitemeni and much love anci happiness that
speciai day in our iives, after ihe excitemenr oithe wedding peopie coming and going
lrienrjs anci reiations from aii round the wori<i , we experienceti another period of
unsettiement where upon w.e were both stuiibd into packing cases thank goociness we
rvere together , Bruno is a bit more inteiiigent then me and he pick ihings up quickiy
he reaiiseri we were moving that's why we *ere in the packing case moving , moving
where i exc.iaimeci Bruno was quite excited w.hen he was expiaining ro me \&'ere
moving ro France irrance i exciaimed again i cant go to Franoe I have never been
sutsicie Engianti and i don't speak the ianguage Coming from Canada Bruno ciid speak
French i wiii heip you he said reassuring me .
I{e took ciays befure we Saw'our new home anci when we ciici we were noi
disappoini.ed we iove ihe house as much as the newiy weds, we have been irere in
France fourteen years now and r,l,e are still witness our rnistress joys and somows and
the circle ol'lifb we love her and w'e know she loves us.
Jackie's contribution:
Health Benefits of Teddy Bears By Snuffles and Mika Kim
For the past century, teddy bears have enjoyed immense popularity among the young at heart. What many people underestimate is the positive effect these bears have on your health. Not only do teddy bears make wonderful sleep time companions, they are also effective in alleviating many chronic health conditions such as anxiety, depression, insomnia, obesity, flatulence, and ear wax build-up.
Contrary to popular belief, teddy bears do not only come in the colour brown. There exist black, white, red, pink, and even blue bears. However, brown is the traditional colour and is what people seem to be most familiar with. No matter what the colour, teddy bears are beneficial for your health. It is the bear itself that is the effective component, not the colour.
Studies have shown that it is the cuteness and apparent attentiveness of the bear that affects change in a person'?s health status. Cuteness depends on how well-loved a bear appears, roundness of features, and amount of fat the bear possesses. Bears that look too new (e.g. like they have never been touched) or too worn (e.g. they have bits and pieces missing) are not considered as cute as bears that look like they've been slept on for a few years, and still have all of their vital organs (e.g. nose and eyeballs). Round and chubby features are best, but if the bear is too round it can be mistaken for a ball which then renders its health effect nil.
Apparent attentiveness is an important feature, because human owners (also known as parents) of the bears tend to find comfort in the fact that their bears are listening to them. That is what helps the human to feel like their health is improving - the attention factor. Thus, if you have a bear that can't sit up or is always looking at something else when you'?re talking to them, you should find a new bear. The best teddy bears are modeled after wild bears, with the same shape and perky ears. These teddy bears can sit on their bums and look you straight in the eye while you complain about how life sucks, and their round, chubby faces deliver compassion and empathy. However, as these types of teddy bears are quite small compared to wild bears, they are sometimes mistaken for pigs, especially if they are pink in colour. One should be careful to shield these bears from hearing such comments, as they then become angry and resentful, which decreases their ability to improve your health condition.
Teddy bears are the best companions to have because they provide help in a wide range of areas. They aren't only good for sleeping and cuddling, which is what most people think. They have also been known to help students prepare for speeches, throw surprise birthday celebrations, provide therapy, and dispose of leftover honey. And, despite working so hard, teddy bears don'?t need regular baths. Actually, they don't need baths at all! You should never wash your teddy bear, as washing also decreases their healing potential. This is a fact.
In recent years, imposters such as teddy ducks, teddy dogs, teddy cats, and even teddy cows have made an appearance. Don'?t be fooled, as these charlatans cannot heal the way teddy bears can. If you want to improve your health, teddy bears are the genuine article. If you REALLY want to improve your health, you should leave some cookies out for your teddy bears. Scientists are not sure how or why this works, but it does.
____________________________________________________________________
Monica's contribution
March 2018.
The secret iii'e of my Teddies.
i wouiri iike to introduce you to the magicai and secret ii{b of Bo Bear and Bruno.
Bo Bear is about 55 years oid anti Bruno about 30 years old , Bo bear is quite a iarge
tedciy bear rounci , wirh beiis in his ears and a growl sadiy over the years he seems to
have iost his growi he has a ioveiy smiiey face. And he has hati four quite serious
operations aii four pads repiace twice he was very brave especiaiiy the second time
when he was suddeniy wirisked of his iarge piiiows were he resides on the bed anci
with out a word oilvarning a huge needie was siuck inio his pacis.
iviy eariiest memory is si*ing on a sheif in a depanment store in Sutton High Street
Surrey In rhe toy departmeni. , as young as i rn'as i reaiiseri it must be Ciuisimas by tire
decorations and the music- piaying i was hoping someone wouiti buy me quickiy and i
wouiri go to a nice home be ioved anri treasured ior years , iots of te<idy's toys and
rioiis were disappearing of the sheives and my heart was begging to sink as i tiidt want
to be stuffed in a box and pui in a dark store room ior a year, these thoughts w'ere very
irighiening,
-fhe store was quire for the time of ,v-ear, anci the horrifying thoughts becoming more
reai when a nice taii man came in anci was giving my sheif a lot of attention the
assistant reached up and took a coupie of soft toys down for him to hoid and iook at
aiso a cioii very extravagately dressed i didt iike her much i haci tried to speak to her
just after midnight when we roys aii come aiive but she was so haughty she wouiti't
even answer me, no thank you i cant have the doii because I am buying something ior
our first baby that hast been born yet and in those far away rjays you di<it know w'har tcr
except , the nice man looked again aiong the sheive how did i miss that ioveiy bear
with his ioveiy smiiey iace, the assisted reached me ciow"n gave me a hug i iove him
she said to the nice man me too he saici i wiil take him, I w'as put in io a large box rviih
pienty of room , the box beauiiful wrappeci anci there i ha<i to stay untii Christmas tiay.
The excitemenr that greeted me on Christmas moming was woncierfui every one ioveci
me ihe mummy to be *-as tieiighieri with a present for thef'e unborn baby and the
grandparents to be w'ere equaily deiighted :;-u-
Cirristmas night i was raken up to the nursery a very posh worci for the iitiie box room
but is was'oeautiiuiiy decorated with a iemon and white crib aw-aiting this baby so
there i sat for a fbw w'eeks untii great joy the baby and mummy iraci arriveri home
from hospitai, anci Jane anti I became great friends she ioved me anci when she crie<i i
aiways reassured her mummy wouid be her.in a moment she i<now's you are hungry '
One day Jane anri I moved ro another room anti the Nursery was spnlced up for
another baby, this iime a boy, boih chiidren piayeci r.vith me but i dici beiong io Jane
and she was quite posiiive ab€at I was her tedtiy .
The years rglled by and I silent watcheri the joys the sorrows the iarniiy dramas iire
rows the heari breaks and suddenly jane was married , I didt move with her i stayed
with the parents and moved to their room. Anci suddeniy iife changed my worse
nightmare happened i was pui in io a box and stored for months. noi knowing whar
was happing.
AIier many monihs I was unpackeci anci put on a big bed, anci i reaiise<i iheir was no
husbanei just Jane's mum anci myseif Jane and Cari boih had their own piaces to
live how-i misseei the chiidren because i useri to taik to them at night sometimes
chastening them aboui their siii cluarrels .
However i siowiy began ro reaiise we in a very pretty iittie cottage in Keni wiiir a
iovely big garden i could see from the beci were i sat , the tears tirat were sheti at nighi
were distressing io say the iest, i missed the chiidren very much anci was very ionely,
"then one riay a iriend arrived for me whai excitement wiren were induceri to one
another and we chaned way in to rhe night he ha<i had quite an adventure zurd hati
traveiled ali the way from Canada with Jane's Liother iike me he was on a shelf for a
iirtie whiie insirie a big piastic bag can you beiier.e he toiti me he was terrified of
suiiocation aithough there lvas a tiny tear in tire bag much to Bruno reiief iane's
mother and iane had come in io the airpon shop i.o cio some souvenir shopping
because iane haci been snow skiing they hadn"t had an opportuniry beiore io shop
rogether it was mother thai saw me first Bnto u'as teliing me and she iilied me ciown
huggeri me and was saying to.iane i iove him they she put me back on the sheiino i
wanted ro scream, why Have you pur him back iane asked weii how ridicuious is thai
said her mother a women of over fiiry iaiiing in iove with a bear, bttt mum he is
beauiiiui he rvouid iook iovely iaying on your beci no perhaps a chiid wiii buy irim,
he his suoh a repiica of a biack bear and ire is so big how wiii i get him home he w'iii
go in the over head iocker Jane said looking arounri and buying gifts me holciing my
breathe please buy me and suddeniy they had paici for the gifts and waikeci out the
shop no i aimost cried out loud they joined the iine to board ihe plane suddeniy Jane
saici mum i meant ro get us a botiie of water anci she ran back in to the shop grabbeci
me off the shelve paid ior me ran back tiuough me in to her mothers arms and yeiied
so the whoie worlcl couici hear Fiappy Nelv year ivium. NIum cried i w"as indeeci
stuffed in rhe over head hoici but noi before a kind hostess took ihe bag oimy hearj
and said we don't wont your trear io suffocare up there .
So iiie joggeci on for many years and Bruno and i have become the best of frieniis soui
mates in fact we have seen many changes in this ioveiy cotiage a ielv iovers come anci
go and then suddeniy great excitement a weci<iing wili Jane's mother find happiness
again bur first we haci to go through the saddest year of Bruno and my iife"s i hari
aireariy experienced death but not Bruno , we reaiiseci something \e'as wrong as mother
was aw'ay a iot it is amazing rn'hat we bears pick up irom you humans .we
found out iane hari iiieci i was devastated how-couid this strong heaithy young w'oillen
oi 37 die the unborn baby i w-as bought for Bruno was a tou'er of strerrgth to nte over
that difticult year and once again ihe tears at night were distressing, Bruno was aiso
cievasiateci as Jane haci bought him for her mother .
Bruno comioned her as in his iaying ciown position.iane's moiher couiti cuddie him ai
nighi .and for many months our worids stood stiii .
zrncl then came the wedciing great excitemeni and much love anci happiness that
speciai day in our iives, after ihe excitemenr oithe wedding peopie coming and going
lrienrjs anci reiations from aii round the wori<i , we experienceti another period of
unsettiement where upon w.e were both stuiibd into packing cases thank goociness we
rvere together , Bruno is a bit more inteiiigent then me and he pick ihings up quickiy
he reaiiseri we were moving that's why we *ere in the packing case moving , moving
where i exc.iaimeci Bruno was quite excited w.hen he was expiaining ro me \&'ere
moving ro France irrance i exciaimed again i cant go to Franoe I have never been
sutsicie Engianti and i don't speak the ianguage Coming from Canada Bruno ciid speak
French i wiii heip you he said reassuring me .
I{e took ciays befure we Saw'our new home anci when we ciici we were noi
disappoini.ed we iove ihe house as much as the newiy weds, we have been irere in
France fourteen years now and r,l,e are still witness our rnistress joys and somows and
the circle ol'lifb we love her and w'e know she loves us.
