Of course, because Pony was such a
well-loved toy, he started to become worn from too many washings. It was torture waiting for Pony to go
through, first the washing machine and then the dryer.
One afternoon, when my daughter was
almost two years old, we had gone on our weekly shopping trip - Wal-Mart,
Kroger, and the Dollar General Store.
Our daughter always enjoyed riding in the "buggies," and Pony
always had a place of honor, strapped into the shopping cart with her.
As most children do, our daughter
wanted everything she could reach from her cart. In Wal-Mart, it was usually crackers or
suckers that kept her occupied. In the
Kroger store, it was usually grapes or juice boxes that kept her under control.
On this particular day, we were
home and had all the shopping bags unpacked, before we learned we had a
problem. It was our daughter's naptime,
and Pony was no where to be found!
I remember fastening the safety
strap around the two of them in Wal-Mart, but I had no recollection of doing
the same thing in Kroger. I ran back out
to the car and searched everywhere, but no Pony.
Because this was a Saturday, my husband
got back in car and drove to town. He
searched the parking lots of both stores and checked with the services
desks. He left his name and phone number
with each store, praying someone would find Pony and turn him in.
Back at home, I was trying without
much success to calm my upset child.
After what seemed like hours of crying, she finally cried herself to
sleep. But a two hour nap didn't solve
our problems.
The rest of that fateful Saturday
was miserable for all of us. Our daughter
would not be consoled and she asked for Pony almost every minute. In a moment of desperation, my husband went
back to Wal-Mart with thoughts of buying a replacement for Pony. Unfortunately, no replacement could be found.
Bedtime that night was pure hell,
and she finally cried herself to sleep again, refusing to be comforted by me or
her daddy.
Then, lo and behold, when we woke
up on Sunday morning, there was a message from Kroger's. Someone had found a stuffed animal in a
shopping cart in the parking lot and had turned it into the service desk. Praying this was Pony, my husband made
another trip into town. By this time,
our daughter was awake and asking for her beloved Pony.
Her daddy got back home less than
20 minutes later, proudly holding Pony in his hands. Dirty and battered, but looking little worse
for the wear, our daughter was so happy to see Pony. I didn't have the heart to take him away from
her, even for a thorough washing.
Needless to say, we put everyone in
the family on the lookout for a replacement Pony. Luckily, my mom was able to find an identical
Pony at a local yard sale. From that
moment on, I knew I had a back-up Pony, and I would interchange these two so
that she never had to be without Pony again.
Our daughter was about five years
old before she quite sleeping with Pony and taking him everywhere she
went. He has been lovingly stored away, waiting
the time when he will be loved again. I
have plans to have Pony placed in a shadow box to give to my Daughter when her
first child is born.
A word to the wise, especially to
first time parents; if your child shows an inordinate interest in a certain toy
or blanket, try to find a duplicate. This way you can avoid hysterics like we
did with the lost pony.
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