Community is an important part of the human experience, and most people would say that their communities play a significant role in their lives. I always thought I was an exception to this - having typically loitered on the outskirts of any community I've ever been a part of - but then my husband pointed out that my community just happens to be my family...
Jemma seems to have created her own community with a bunch of stuffed animals that she refers to as ' my guys'. They sleep on her bed with her, and - while they don't have the 'lovey' status of her bear, Cubile - are very important to her.
For awhile she'd bring the whole group into our room in the early mornings, to cuddle with us until it was time to get up. I don't know how she managed to carry them all - at one point there were 7 of them - but she'd show up will her arms full, climb into our bed and arrange them, giving one to me and one to Scott, and piling the rest together near her. For some reason she always gave me 'cuddley duck' and Scott always got the kitty-cat ballerina... I don't know why she thought Scott needed that particular 'guy' - but it never varied. Some mornings when Jemma didn't feel like getting into bed with us, she'd just bring in the ballerina and tuck it under her dad's arm while he slept...
She hasn't brought them into our room for quite some time now - but they still live at the bottom of her bed. Every once in awhile a new one will join them or one of the older ones will make its way back to the toy-chest...
Jemma seems to know we all need community... One day she brought me a present. She watched expectantly as I opened it (it was a stuffed animal of a Fennec fox) and said, "I got it for you because you didn't have a 'guy' - and now you have one."
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