Confessions of a Casual Perfectionist: Day 21

It’s NaBloPoMo Day 21!

Today’s confession: I never really worry about something dreadful happening to my daughter’s stuffed-lovey, because we have an exact replica hidden in a secret location, and they trade places often.

Puppy is Claire’s lovey. He’s a stuffed little puppy we got from a friend for Claire before she was even born. Because I was a [paranoid] safety-conscious first-time parent, I wouldn’t let her sleep with anything (not even bumper) in her crib until she turned 1yr old. Then, I saw to it that Puppy and Claire spent a lot of time together, because I knew she’d fall in love with some lovey, and I wanted that lovey to be small and manageable. It worked! (for both of us!!)

Most recently, Claire started dressing puppy in Baby Ariel’s onesie, and she made him wait in her Ballet bag during class last week. Then, she told me to take his picture. Puppy smiled so nicely, just like he always does. I can’t tell if he’s embarrassed by his outfit and predicament or if he’s happy he looks so big in this tiny bag?

Puppy and Claire have had many, many adventures together.  Puppy has been Claire’s confidante and partner in crime for years now.

So, as a perfectionist, how am I handling life knowing that at any time, something dreadful could befall Puppy, thus upsetting the delicate balance of sanity we have in our household?

It’s easy: Puppy has a stunt double.

It’s true! Puppy and his twin have been trading places for over two years now. In fact, I’m not even sure which is the original Puppy and which is the one we got when we realized that life without Puppy would be terrible for everyone involved if something horrifying happened to Puppy.  (Not knowing which is which does make me twitch a little, but I’ve come to terms with it…because if I can’t tell, that means the trick is working!)

At first, I switched them out every other week or so, so they’d get the same wear and tear. Then, it became once a month. Then, just last month, I realized I hadn’t switched them in a while, and when I went to do so, the plump stunt double peering at me from my secret drawer made the current Puppy look exhausted and in terrible need of a massage and a bath!

This time, I made the switch when Claire was in school. She asked if I’d given Puppy a bath, and I told her I had. It wasn’t technically a lie, since a version of Puppy was in the washing machine at that very moment, unbeknownst to her.

Puppy and Claire were once inseparable, and she still has days like that. Now, that she’s almost 4-years old, there are times when she can go a whole day without even asking about Puppy if she’s busy with other things. It just depends. Once bedtime rolls around, though, Puppy and Claire drift off to dreamland together, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

When will we tell her there’s another Puppy? I’m not sure. We’ll burn that bridge to the ground when we get there. In the meantime, I spend my days knowing that it doesn’t matter what happens to Puppy, because there’s another one waiting in the wings, and that is the epitome of casual perfection if I’ve ever seen it.