Wednesday, July 01, 2009

secret 1 - i still have a security blanket

i'm starting off with a whimsical first secret. and discerning readers of MPC will know that i kinda already revealed it once in a comment on ext's blog.

you know how some kids have a pacifier or suck their thumb? we have a sort of instinct for comforting ourselves in some way. but for me, it wasn't a pacifier and it wasn't my thumb, it was my blankie, pinky. my grandma bought it for me even before i was born, boldly buying pink, sure that i was a girl. and indeed she was right. and oh, how i loved that blanket. it started off soft with silky pink band on the edges. from the countless washings, the softness eventually became all nobbly and bally, but that just endeared it to me even more. i developed a habit of twisting a particularly good little bally bit between my fingers as a soothing act.


as i carried it around, it grew ever smaller. my parents tried to make me get rid of it, but i refused. they eventually gave up, as long as i didn't actually drag it around in public. but that was ok, i really only needed it to sleep anyway. eventually, pinky was just a faded greyish handful of knotted-together bits (which i still have tucked away in a chest). i moved on to another blanket that was equally bally and in fact, was dubbed bally--bally came to college with me. and after bally came ballette and then i think ballene. one time, i accidentally left bally in a hotel room (inside a pillow case) and we actually drove more than an hour back to get it. it was that important to my sanity me.


the one i have now, i don't think i named, or if i did i don't remember what i called it. and at my advanced age, i don't actually have to carry it around with me anymore in order to sleep, tho' sometimes i'll admit i  want to. my family thinks i'm a bit mad. husband tolerates it with an indulgent smile and sabin asks me frequently exactly what it is i love about that blanket. but it's hard to explain a lifetime of comfort derived from a shabby piece of fabric, so i guess i don't give her a satisfactory answer. and she keeps asking.


sabin seems to have inherited the predilection a bit, with her love for her ning. which you can also see in  this post. for her, it's more about rubbing the corners on her cheek, as her ning isn't bally at all. those corners are pretty worn out these days and i'm going to have to make her a new cover for her little baby down comforter, because she does like to have it when she's trying to sleep. just like her mom.


and the blanket in these pictures, not The Blankie, but #55 in the evidence of creativity--a soft fleecy cuddly that i made last weekend for those chilly nights in the garden, when i just can't bear to come in. i may be spilling my secrets this month, but the appearance of the real blankie will remain, just that, a secret.

you know you want to play along too...come on, tell me a secret.

17 comments:

spudballoo said...

FIRST!!Aha, quite fitting..

Now this is exactly the sort of thing I was hoping for. I love it, and bless you xx I had a 'cuddly, a cot blanket which had a band of satin around the edge which I loved to stroke. Cuddly got 'lost' at some point, my mother's revenge for the tantrums?

Excellent start to the 30 secrets, already can't wait for tomorrow!!

xx

Anonymous said...

In light of my disapproval of my Aunt today I will tell one of her secrets - She still sucks her thumb! ;0)

Polly said...

I can imagine your latest blankie is soft and very warm. And it matches the colouring of the blue room.

This is the FIRST secret? There'll be more?? Looking forward to it.

Cyndy said...

One of my sons was totally attached to his blankie-blankies! He always had one by his side. We actually had 3 so that I could rotate them in the wash. All were crib sized quilts and they went everywhere with him. He would hide under them, twist them up and put on his head as a turban, weave them in between his fingers as he sucked his thumb. When it was time to go to school, I worried I would have to cut one so that he could have a little piece in his pocket. Now they are so thin, so soft. I often think about making a pillow sham for him with the stronger pieces...

The main thing is that BB always soothed him. And I would often think that everyone should have this magic. That we could probably solve so many of the worlds problems if everyone had a BB. Really.

Love your BB's dots. Reminds me of the painting I procured from you. Perhaps your BB was its inspiration!

Snap said...

I didn't have a blankie, but I did have a little stuffed, brown dog that had a music box inside. You turned the little dog's tail to wind-up the music box. I slept very well with that little dog. I have no idea what happened to him. I've been looking for a replacement ever since! I finally found a teddy bear in a thrift shop that has a music box inside of him. Not the same, but the music is sweet. :D

heidikins said...

My childhood blanket was called my snapper and I still absolutely love it.

Secret: Sometimes I'd rather up and move to another country rather than try and make things work with Handsome.

xox

McGillicutty said...

Ashley has Pink Blanky AKA nite nite. She alternates between the two names. Always has to sleep with it and it has to be laid out over her in just the right way with the right side down! I have a deliciously soft blanket that is so lightweight but totally warm, I love to watch tv with this blanky over me, it means I don't have to make the bed!! Thanks for the secrets.... Ali.

jane said...

i had one when i was little too. i wonder whatever happened to it?... see you tomorrow:)

Melanie said...

i don't have a baby blanket either, but i do have a little stuffed lamb named Lamby. original, right?

Anonymous said...

hmm let's see - that i didnt quit sucking my thumb till i was 9? (giggle)

Mari Mansourian said...

oooooh that was fun, looking forward to more... my 13 year old had one up until about 7, it was all torn and mangled... and the edges... yup..he used to rub it with his thumb... we still have what's left of it, and he takes it out every now and then...smells it and puts it away (he'll kill me if he finds out I spilled it here ;0 )

Molly said...

I tried, and tried and TRIED to get Frieda hooked on one of these - it sounded so simple: blankie=happykid - but naturally she refused. She enjoys 'remaining firm' as much as her momma!

VW: cande - derived from candid? how apt...

Char said...

both of my nieces have their blankets, the oldest calls hers blue blanket while the youngest calls hers mimi. the youngest I think will continue to have hers through the years as she is totally a texture person.

rxBambi said...

I have several of my stuffed animals that I had as a child, some are in boxes and some are in my closet. I just use husband as a security blanket tho...

speaking of using husband as security blanket, wv: firmaspl

I'll leave it to your imagination what I'm thinking ;)

kristina said...

this was a very sweet secret :-) I didn't have a security blanket, but I do have a (stuffed) dog named "Hund" (which is, of course, Swedish for dog). he now lives in my wardrobe, and Vigdis has taken his place in the bed :-)

Anonymous said...

Hey there. Thanks for the comments on my posts and for sending people across :0))

Sammi said...

I had a silk blanket as a baby, and I left it in Gran Canaria by mistake when I left. I know my landlord has thrown it out. I would've been embarrassed to ask for it back.