The Jay's Days: Blankie Hunt

Each of my boys has had a beloved blankie that they've clung to. Some more than others. Kiefer loved his so much he loved the 'taggie' off of it and would snuffle a string that was literally the last thread of his taggie. Carter declared himself a big boy the night of his fifth birthday and folded his neatly under his bed and has never returned to it. Kiefer was more like Linus from Peanuts and would literally drag his blankie everywhere he went until he started school. It was his best friend, his most treasured companion, and his favorite toy. He could sit for hours and suck his thumb and snuff his blankie while watching a movie, watching the clouds roll by or watching his brothers play. He was evenutally bribed into retiring his by the orthodontist and I was impressed with his willpower and determination to win the movie passes and ice cream gift card rewards! Griffin has a normal relationship with his blankie and he likes to cover himself up with his "blankie" at bedtime or snuggle first thing in the morning. And Fletcher is more like Kiefer (in many ways) but in that he, too, is a thumb sucker and is quite fond of his blankie.

With each beloved blankie there are occasional mishaps where they turn up missing. Normally, we make the rounds and go on what we call "A Blankie Hunt" complete with the made up song of the modified "Going on a Bear Hunt" and the culprit, I mean, the blankie seeker, typically rides on my back while we hunt and sing the song. After a few investigative searches in the same unusual hiding places, we've typically been able to recover the sought after blankie and continued with life as usual. However, Fletcher's blankie seems to be the most elusive. A few weeks ago, he lost it overnight! A travesty for a blankie devotee! We had searched everywhere, at least twice! Inside the oven, under the couch, inside pots and pans, in the back of the toy closet in the basement, in his bathtub - you name it. We couldn't find it anywhere! We even offered a reward, thinking reverse psychology if a brother had made the mistake of hiding it, perhaps he could at least be motivated to help recover it. But to no avail. Daddy-O and I both were racking our brains to try to figure out where he had stashed it. Finally, Daddy-O found it underneath the bed in the guest room in the basement. Whew! Disaster evaded. (Ding dang Blankiety Blank!)

But now, a few weeks later, he's done it again. We're going on 48 hours of the missing blankie. We're about to call in the F.B.I. It's baby blue with his worn off monogram and a well loved satin ribbon edge. Used to be crib sized, now it won't cover his feet when he lies flat, so it must be approximately 40" in length. The day it disappeared, we stayed home all day! It's lost somewhere in this house! Again, we've gone on our typical blankie hunt - and we've even looked in the unusual places. A reward has just been warranted… and prayers have been lifted up on it's behalf. Oh, please, Lord, let it turn up soon!

After another thorough search and rescue mission where I scoured every inch of this place, starting from the top down. Each room I'd turn up empty handed and I'd exit saying "Clear" the way they do on all the police shows. When I finally reached the basement, I was beginning to lose hope and growing increasingly concerned that it had accidentally gone out with the trash yesterday. But thankfully, it was found underneath the couch cushions in the basement! I know I'll sleep better! And I bet a little someone else will, too!