Runaway Lambie

John didn't attach to any lovie (transitional object) till about 18 months old. He then went through a few stuffed animals before attaching strongly to Lambie. He sleeps with Lambie (who is white) and Blue Lamb (who is blue), but Blue Lamb is a second string player who merely serves when John wants to clutch a lovie in each arm.

I do not allow Lambie to leave the house, lest John lose him. I don't even like to let John carry Lambie outside of his bedroom because, on nights John has tried to fall asleep and Lambie is missing, he wails and cries while we search the house, until we find the lost sheep.

But when we go out of town, we have no choice but to take Lambie and risk it. Lambie came with us to Atlanta last weekend . . . but he didn't make it home. We forgot him in the hotel room.

We realized our terrible mistake upon arriving home late Sunday night, putting John to sleep. We decided not to say anything to John and hope that, in his fatigue, he wouldn't notice. Indeed, he didn't inquire about Lambie that night. He didn't inquire about Lambie all week! I was stunned. One time only a few weeks ago, Lambie had gone missing at bedtime, but we found him within a few minutes. For days John retold the dramatic story, asking "Where did Lambie go?" (meaning, where had Lambie gone). But this time, nothin'.

The hotel mailed Lambie to us and he arrived on Thursday. He had even (probably unintentionally!) been thrown in the wash at the hotel, so was a much brighter white than before.

I placed Lambie casually in John's bed without announcing Lambie's return. I wanted to see what John would do. John did nothing! He got into bed as if nothing was different and went to sleep. Over the monitor I did hear him playing with Lambie and saying his name, but that was all. I'm so surprised, I hardly know what to think!