WHERE'S MY BLANKIE??
I can't find my little piece of Blankie!
Today will be my very first day of school. I need my Blankie and I need it right now.
I had it last night when I went to bed. We slept together as we always do.
This morning I looked between my Mickey Mouse sheets, and under my pillow. No Blankie.
I crawled under my bed and found some old cookies, my stuffed Lion King and my favorite blue shirt which I’d been looking for all week. I searched through my sock drawer, but all I found was an old tennis ball, some rocks and bottle caps I’d been collecting.
It has to be somewhere in my bed. I turned my pajamas inside out and shook them really hard. I even pulled the sheets off my bed, but no Blankie.
My toy chest. Maybe I put it in there by mistake. I threw all the toys out of my toy chest. I still couldn’t find my Blankie.
I even pulled all the dirty clothes out of the bathroom hamper. It wasn’t there either.
Running outside, I crawled inside Buffy's dog house. She likes my Blankie, too. I found some old bones, a torn-up rug and the baseball I thought I’d lost, but no Blankie.
I always beg my mother not to wash it, but sometimes she takes it when I'm asleep. I know how her washer eats socks. I don't want it to eat my Blankie.
I ran to the washer and lifted the lid. Not there. I looked in the dryer. It was empty, too. I even opened up the dishwasher, just in case.
Where has my little piece of Blankie gone? I can't start school without my Blankie.
My Blankie makes me feel brave when I'm really scared. It keeps me warm when it's cold outside and shades me if the sun is too hot. It hides my eyes, so the lightening won't scare me and covers my ears so the thunder isn't so loud. It helps the hurt go away when I'm sick. It protects me from the monsters that hide in my room at night.
I take it everywhere I go. I take it to the grocery store and when I go to the movies. It goes with me to church on Sundays. I take it to the park when I play on the swings. I always, always take it to the doctor’s office. I even take it to my grandma's house when I stay all night with her.
It's not a very big Blankie any more. The satin binding is gone. It's thin, but it's soft when I hold it against my face and it still makes me feel safe./p>
Today I start school and I know I can use it for a pillow when we have rest time. I can use it like a hat if it rains during recess, or a napkin when we have snack time.
I asked my mother if it was lost. She hugged me tight and wiped away my tears and said, “All Blankies have to leave sometime. They can’t stay forever. Once you become a school boy, you don’t need Blankies any more.”
I was still sad when my mother and I walked to the corner bus stop. This was supposed to be a happy day, but I missed my Blankie. Tears filled my eyes and I looked up at Mother and asked, "Did the washer eat my blankie?"
She nodded yes, kissed me on the cheek and helped me climb the steps of the school bus.
