Cheer Bear, R.I.P.

This blog is supposed to be only about happy things, but this post make me a little sad. As a kid I collected stuffed animals- I had TONS of them.  Some were more special to me than others, and my number one special stuffed animal was my Cheer Bear.

I had quite a few Care Bears, but Cheer Bear was my first.  I had to have "tubes" put in my ears when I was 6 and I was put under anesthesia. When I woke up, Cheer Bear was by my side! After that, Cheer Bear was my go-to guy, especially if I ever felt scared or sad. Cheer Bear lived up to his name and always seemed to make me feel better.

A few months ago, I felt like I needed my Cheer Bear- who has been in storage at my parent's house for years.  Instead, I started this blog page (Blogger lets you start posts and publish them later) and I planned to retrieve Cheer Bear on my next visit North and bring him back with me. Here I was going to take his picture and feature him prominently on my virtual happy place.

While at my parents place, I went through some of my stored boxes.  Quite a few of them were full with stuffed animals- and some of them looked brand new- but Cheer Bear showed his popularity proudly.  He was a little scruffy, and a little worn around the edges, but it sure was good to see him after all these years! I set him aside, planning to pack him home... but tragedy struck.

I don't want to relive the gorey details, let us say that Cheer Bear met his demise within hours of being freed from his storage container. After 25 years, Cheer Bear was no longer so cheery. Needless to say, I had a little emotional breakdown (maybe a little over dramatic, actually) but Cheer Bear deserved a bit of heartfelt grief. And now, I honor him in this post.

This is not a picture of  my Cheer Bear, as my guy didn't make it long enough for me to take his picture. (This one really doesn't have the same spirit as mine). 

So farewell Cheer Bear! Thanks for making me feel better so many times. I'll miss knowing you're there... Love!