Bunny, Bunny, Bunny, Bunny.... Whoops.... Bunny, Bunny.... Whoops.... Bunny, Bunny, Bunny, Bunny

OK, so I know "Bunny, Bunny, Bunny, Bunny.... Whoops.... Bunny, Bunny.... Whoops.... Bunny, Bunny, Bunny, Bunny" is a bit of a long and odd title for a post. But, hey, nevermind. It means something to me, at least. It was a little trick I used to play on my elder niece when she was diddy, and apart from the word 'Bunny', it has nothing to do with the rest of what I want to tell you... Oh, well, I am feeling a little bit naughty and self indulgent tonight, so let's just roll (or hop) with it for now!

Today I went into Oxford to get a bunny. Not a real life bouncy fluffy bunny. A stuffed bunny. And, no, I don't mean taxidermy. I went to buy a soft toy bunny for my little niece who I will be seeing next week. I know she will love it as she makes a bee-line for both of the ones I have every time I see her. I am not the type of person to collect teddy bears, or even teddy bunnies, in fact teddy bears have always freaked me out a little, along with dolls of all kinds. In spite of this I have two little white teddy bunnies, one of which has a bell inside it. In all honesty, despite the fact that I bought them and that they have spent every night since they were bought in my arms, they are not my bunnies. They were bought for two much more important people than I, and I am just looking after them for now.

I bought her, my niece, her own bunny last year - a mainly white, with a teeny bit of pink, 'Miffy' bunny, which she (apparently) cuddles each night before she eventually allows herself to succumb to sleep. I guess you could say it is her comforter.

My comforter as a child was a blanket. I loved my blanket so much and to this day remember my upset and confusion as I watched it shrink in size and then totally disappear. My mother, at the time, explained the phenomenon away as the washing machine's doing. It had, on several occasions, unexplainedly, repeatedly, shrunk my innocent blanket, until one night when it had finally 'eaten' it, and Blanket was gone. I was distraught and hated the washing machine for a very long time! I only discovered the truth about 'Blanket' later in life, and I wasn't impressed! The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, was that my mother (yes, my wholesome, honest, god-fearing mother) had systematically cut my blanket down in size again and again until the time came when the washing machine (aka 'the bin') could be blamed for its eventual demise.

As far as comforters go, I thought Blanket was pretty harmless really. I wasn't the only sibling who had a comforter... My brother had 'Fred'. Fred was a hand made starfish-shaped ginger stripy clown. Yes, he sounds attractive, I know! A little odd, perhaps? Truth is, he was. But, he was also very loved (and exists to this day, I believe). My sister had a cutting of silk that she used to wrap around her fingers before she went to sleep - I think the 'washing machine' may have played a similar sinister part in bringing that love affair to an end. My sister, however, also had her thumb! Not much Mum could do about that! Not even the washing machine could fix that! So, Mum did what most parents would have done. She resorted to bribery. She promised to buy my sister a watch if she could bring herself to stop sucking her thumb. I really didn't find this fair. I didn't have any bad habits to give up in order to get a watch. So I seriously considered starting to suck my thumb, just so I could get my watch when I stopped.

My aunt, it seems, did not have the same aversion to comforters that our Mum did. She allowed our cousin to keep, maul even, his 'Bee', which, alternative to the suggestion in his name, is not a bee, but a bunny. Well, at least Bee was a bunny, if I was being accurate I would say that he is now just an ear - the result of 30 years of 'love' - although I doubt Bee felt the same ultimately.

So, we have come full circle, back to bunnies. Next week, I will give my niece her new bunny, and I can only hope it gets half the love bestowed to Fred, Blanket, Bee or my sister's silk ribbon!