Under the Cover

It was one of many sweet gifts from my brother’s wife, Lisa, at my baby shower.  In all honesty, she had compiled so many gifts in anticipation of our new baby girl that I wasn’t sure who was more excited – her or me!  As I look back at this now, I can’t help but smile.

 

I was not an avid shopper and had not frequented the cute children’s store Gymboree, but soon learned that they sell all sorts of children’s apparel including the most adorable soft blankets with reversible prints and coordinating trim.

 

This special gift was a Gymboree blanket which is pink with a floral print on one side and golden yellow with a floral print on the other.  Since the day we brought her home from the hospital, this blanket, which became known as Blankie, has been by Hannah’s side for over 16 years.

 

There was an almost instant attachment – so much so that as I look back through her photo albums, there just aren’t many pictures of Hannah as a small child without it.  One of the cutest memories I have is when she was about two years old at an Easter egg hunt.  She’s got her Easter basket in one hand and Blankie being dragged along the ground with the other hand.  She was participating BUT not without Blankie.

 

You see, Blankie never got too far away from her.  In fact, if we had gone somewhere and forgotten Blankie, it did not matter the miles we would have to travel to recover it because there would be no nap time and no bed time for Hannah or any of us without Blankie (well, and her thumb).  This lasted throughout preschool, kindergarten and several of her elementary school years.  Just to launder it, I literally had to sneak it away from her in the middle of the night and then place it back before morning.

 

Blankie has traveled many miles, been dragged all over the place (as evidenced by its holes, rips and discoloration), has covered a sweet newborn baby, a toddler, a preschooler, and an elementary school girl while she slept.  It has been held by a middle school girl and a high school girl at times when she was happy and at times through tears when she felt life’s hurts.  



While this small gift has been so precious to Hannah all these years, it has covered God’s most precious gift to me - the little girl under the cover. 

 

 

 

 

Easter  - Before the Easter Egg Hunt