Kitty 2.0
When I was about 9 , I had two goldfish named Chip and Dale. Chip and Dale were your run of the mill goldfish. They were gold. They lived in a bowl. They swam a lot. They were normal in every way except one. They lived far longer than one would expect two goldfish owned by a 9-year-old.
It wasn’t until Chip and Dale finally met that large porcelain bowl in the sky that my mother let me in on a secret… Chip and Dale were really Chip and Dale 2.0. It turns out that during a vacation to Mexico, we left the care of our fish to the really nice neighbors who lived upstairs from us. These neighbors had a toddler girl who loved to feed the fish. In fact, she loved to feed them so much that she killed my fish. The father of the fish killer, determined to cover up the crime, braved the worst rain storms of the decade to find two gold fish that resembled Chip and Dale. He didn’t quite succeed, however. A while later I noticed that Chip had a small black dot on his fin that he didn’t have before. My mother explained it away (being a willing accomplice) and I believed her.
Fast forward almost 30 years and I find myself in a similar situation. You see, last week Swee’Pea lost her kitty. This kitty was given to her on her first Christmas by her Uncle Ben and Aunt Liz. This kitty has been her favorite ever since. She sleeps with it every night and takes it to daycare every day, tucked lovingly into her backpack. Last week, Kitty left for daycare and never came back. We assumed she’d turn up but she didn’t. We waited for ransom demands but none came. Finally, we decided that kitty wasn’t coming back. Swee’Pea took this news much better than Daddy did. We promised her that we’d let her pick out a new kitty. We even went to Target to look at their pathetic choice of kitties. We went home empty handed.
Then I remembered the wonderful internet. The same internet that introduced me to my wife. The same internet that allowed me to have a full compliment of forks and spoons. It could surely help me here. So Sunday night I went on over to eBay and poked around. And then, after numerous searches, I found it. A multi-colored Ty Kitty cat. I chose the “Buy it now” option and sent a nice note to the lady asking her to rush the order as a little girl was missing her kitty. It arrived yesterday.
When I presented it to Swee’Pea, telling her that I found her kitty in my car, she could not stop giggling with delight. She wrapped that kitty to her chest and held tightly. She couldn’t stop hugging her kitty. It was HER kitty and it was back where it belonged!
TheMonk, however, wasn’t so sure. He kept referring to it as “Swee’Pea’s new kitty.” (After all, it was spotless! No hint of drool or dirt anywhere.) I finally told him that it was, indeed, Swee’Pea’s old kitty but that Daddy had given it a really good bath. TheMonk grudgingly accepted this and all is now right in the house.
Someday she’ll learn that this isn’t her original kitty but like a little boy almost 30 years ago, what she doesn’t know now certainly won’t hurt her.
Swee’Pea with Kitty 1.0 at 20 months.
Swee’Pea with Kitty 2.0 at 3 years 4 months.
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I actually bought two of a Ty stuffed lion for Tad in order to avoid this. The ungrateful little turkey then became attached to a blanket bunny and gave up the lion.
*sigh*… Anyone looking for a brand-new stuffed lion?
Comment by Deanna — October 30, 2008 @ 8:08 am
You’re a good Daddy! You brought her security item back from oblivion.
My husband would have said,”That’s what you get for bringing it to school!”
Comment by grace — October 30, 2008 @ 8:34 am
My daughter latched onto a stuffed kitty at JCPenney’s at the age of one, so we bought it, and she’s been attached to it ever since (she’s now 3 years old). After two years of CONSTANT love the poor kitty is getting a bit worn. Not sure what’s gonna happen when Kitty falls apart. I might have to check out Ebay, although I doubt it’ll be there. Plus I have no idea of the brand since the tag is shredded.
Glad you found your Kitty 2.0!
Comment by Kate — October 30, 2008 @ 9:15 am
I think it’s okay to let them be innocent for awhile. A bath, that’s a good one. At our house, it’s blankies. But I have extras (which I change out, so they all look and feel the same: hideous) in a drawer, hidden. For this exact reason.
Comment by Issa — October 30, 2008 @ 10:30 am
Dude…when we were little kids, my younger brother was completely attached to his Snoopy teddy bear. He took that thing everywhere. I think we went through nine different versions of Snoopy. He never knew the difference.
Meanwhile, I had no idea you were so into the Rescue Rangers that you named your fish after them. Funny. Reminds me of a girl in college who named her two fish “Abercrombie” and “Fish.”
Comment by MetroDad — October 30, 2008 @ 11:28 am
interestingly, my girls were paci babies…and once the pacis were gone, at 3, they didn’t have anything they were attached to. my son, who lost his paci when he was 1, has a blanket. but it was never allowed to leave his bedroom…so i never really had the issue of needed a version 2.0.
but i’d love to put blanket 1.0 in the garbage
Comment by ali — October 30, 2008 @ 11:37 am
I wonder where TheMonk gets his skepticism.
Comment by Grandmother — October 30, 2008 @ 12:29 pm
Awww, you ROCK!! How wonderful that you found Kitty 2.0 on ebay. I just LOVE the fact that TheMonk figured it out, what a smarty-pants!
Hugs & Blessings!
Comment by MamaChanga — October 30, 2008 @ 2:14 pm
Do you have a backup explanation in case Kitty 1.0 mysteriously resurfaces?
Comment by Amy — October 30, 2008 @ 4:01 pm
Very Cute! Your lucky you found that.
My son somehow became attached to a white tshirt found on the floor when he first started crawling. We ended up knotting it so he wouldn’t trip on it when he started walking. It also got named Wubby, and he still carries Wubby around at 5 years old.
Comment by Steven at Book Dads — October 30, 2008 @ 4:55 pm
Thanks goodness you found Kitty 2.0! Even if TheMonk is on to smoething, she looks to be smitten and even brothers can’t change that.
Comment by bleachusd — October 30, 2008 @ 4:59 pm
You are an awesome daddy! I hope you sent the seller a link to this blog post to show her how happy she made your little girl.
My sister has 2 of what her girls are attached to, so if one gets lost, she has another one. When she takes one to wash, she switches in the other.
My kids never had anything quite like that.
Comment by Julie — October 30, 2008 @ 7:24 pm
Yes – we have Prayer Bear – in fact, we have 3 Prayer Bears. For about 18 months, we were successful in switching them out, and then one day she asked us where her “other” Prayer Bears were…she was on to us. And, yes, she knew there were 3 total.
Now – all three are her “best” friends, and it’s not unusual to see her sleeping with one tucked under each arm.
Comment by Stacy — October 30, 2008 @ 9:58 pm
God save the internet!
Comment by Above Average Joe — October 31, 2008 @ 9:36 am
I have a similar story – lost my green bunny when I was about 4. After searching and searching for it, my dad brought home a new green bunny and I happily took it to bed. The next morning he asked me if I was happy to have my green bunny again, assuming that I thought it was the old one. My response? “I’m happy Daddy, but this one had a belly button and the other one didn’t so I picked it off.” Didn’t matter though – a green bunny was a green bunny.
Comment by Michelle — October 31, 2008 @ 10:39 am
You do realize,I hope, that some time in the next few days Kitty 1 will turn up and you will have a lot of explaining to do.
Comment by jwg — October 31, 2008 @ 12:39 pm
I can’t believe you only bought one…
Comment by Rattling the Kettle — November 1, 2008 @ 8:07 pm