Kaeley the White Tiger

In an attempt to teach responsibility Brad and I do not usually replace toys that have been lost or broken by the children. Besides the responsibility thing, in all our years of parenting we would be living in a box should we have replaced every broken or lost toy. Second, our children, living in a comfortable middle class home, could easily replace any broken toy by merely entering the toy room (at their own risk, of course) finding a like toy. "You lost your doll? Well, thank goodness you have four more."

Hypothetically, should a particular six year misplace a beloved orange tiger named Paw-fect bought with her own money at the thrift store, the parents that raised her would gently encourage her to choose from the two dozen other stuffed animals that litter the toy room and the bedroom floor.

However, when that hypothetical six year old loses an orange tiger she has carried all over Southern California and has slept with every night and has loved since buying her in February, it's a bit of a different story.

Yesterday, we went to the park and the orange tiger took residence somewhere else. The disappearance was reported after the children were tucked into bed and Brad and I were eating ice cream in the living room (because that's what good parents do when the children are away). Alynna appeared in the dark hallway with her beloved fuzzy blanket wrapped around her middle. She squinted in the light and squeaked out, "Mommy, where's my tiger?" After rummaging through all the trappings that went to the park with us, like laundry that needed folding and lunch dishes and hats that Simon wears for a total of five minutes, it was confirmed that the tiger was gone.

And the tear began. Alynna bawled! "But she was my favorite!"

I walked into the bedroom and offered her the stuffed penguin, the horse, the dragon, and two other animals that occupy the room, but none of them could fill the tiger-shaped hole in her heart.

Today, after playing at the beach, I took Alynna to the park again to look for the tiger. As we drove into the parking lot she drove a nail right into my heart as she squeaked, "I had a dream last night that it rained and you put on a raincoat and got an umbrella and a flashlight to look for my tiger." And it was pretty well confirmed right then and there, as I pictured myself screaming through the storming rain, "Tiger! Alynna's tiger!" that I would be replacing a lost toy.

She jumped out in her sandy bathing suit and walked around the park, but to no avail. The tiger was gone for good.

So I broke my rule today and bought a replacement. Alynna technically owes me $4.50, but we'll see if her debt will be waived by the local magistrate. She is now in love with a brand new, furry white tiger who she has christened "Kaeley".