The first phone call today won’t be my mom or my dad calling to wish me a happy birthday but somehow I know theirs will be the first wishes of the day. That is how it always was and how it shall remain. And the first face I shall see when I wake up is the same face (or close to the same face) it has been since I was a child.
My mom made this Winnie The Pooh for my first birthday in 1970 . Since then he has helped celebrate my successes, been suffocated in my hugs, saturated in my tears and dragged through more drama than a bear should have to face. But his allegiance to our friendship remains just as strong now as it was then.
Birthday celebrations would not be the same without Winnie. It may be a childish tradition but that bear represents a great deal of love and a longing to hold on to the memories that mean so much. He has seen his share of joy and tragedy. He has undergone facial reconstruction and some botched plastic surgery (thanks to an over-excitable Labrador Retriever that belonged to a roommate) but he never fails to hang in there to share year after year with me. He and I have weathered many successes and many ominous periods together but he still remains the same source of comfort he has always been.
I can’t imagine a birthday celebration without him. And now that my mom is gone, Winnie is the strongest connection to her that I can still hold in my hands. His abiding presence in my life not only allows me to look to the future but keeps me rooted in my past.
Happy birthday Winnie. May we be together, sharing our day, for many years to come.
polysyllabic profundities 
Happy birthday!!!
Thank you!!
Happy happy birthday!!!
Here’s to you and Winnie sharing nothing but joy for s long time to come.
Thank you very much! From me and Winnie. 🙂
Happy Birthday Sue! And to Winnie too!
Thank you from both of us. 🙂
Lovely Susan! I should send you a photo of the teddy bear my Dad, who died when I was 13 months old, gave me when I was born…a true antique now, but still dearly loved and cherished!
Thank you Janice. I would love to see a picture of your teddy!
Happy birthday! Thats such a lovely story. Its amazing that you’ve managed to hold on to ir for so many years.
He’s a little worn but he’s hanging in there! Thank you for the birthday wishes. 🙂
I LOVE his shirt. You can’t buy that kind of fashion sense. Happy birthday 🙂
Haha…thank you! I tried to find similar material when I made the same bear for each of my nephews but I couldn’t find anything nearly as cool. 😉
Oh I love Winnie the Pooh! I have a giant talking one myself a friend gave me in college which was excellent timing because it was such a relief to see him on my bed after a trying calculus final! 🙂 For me, my lovely pal from childhood is a large stuffed “Littlefoot” from the Land Before Time. I’ve had him since I was about six or seven I think. He’s followed me through thick and thin and I get harassed because I still have him and yes, I still sleep with him lol but his love is unfailing and true. There are worse things in this world. 🙂 Happy Birthday!
Thank you! I love that you have your Littlefoot….they are precious friends. 🙂
Happy birthday! I’m jealous. I don’t know what I did with my fur-less, one eyed, leg sewed on, stuffed in the bottom of my sleeping bag for 6th grade camp teddy. Enjoy yours.
Thank you!
I love that Winnie had facial reconstruction. I have a toy dog called Sweep, it was based on a puppet from a TV programme, so he stood upright on two legs. I wanted a real dog so badly that I tied string round his neck and dragged him round anyway – so he was face down, he too needed patching up. My Mum stitched on a new nose with wool.
My roommate had a black lab puppy that snacked on Winnie’s face. I phoned my mom, hysterically crying, and told her what happened. My grandmother performed the surgery. I still remember how devastated I was when it happened!
Doh….Happy Birthday 😀
Lol…thank you!
Aw! Winnie’s extra cute because he was made with love and has been loved so very much.
Happy birthday, my friend!
Thank you, Mike. I appreciate that. 🙂
How very sweet! He’s a cutie pie. Feliz Cumpleanos to you. 🙂
Thank you so much.
Happy birthday! Blessings to you both. I love your Winnie!
Thank you!