care bears

Look what I dug out of some boxes in the back of the garage. You see, the Little Dude has this little purple Care Bear, Share Bear I believe it is, that a friend of mine gave to him when he was born, back in Montreal. Recently he pulled it out of the back of a cupboard and has become quiet enamoured of it. So yesterday we were talking about what to get for The Baby for his birthday, and L.D. suggested a Care Bear. So we went online to see what other Care Bears there were, and I could not find anywhere where you can buy them new. Apparently they have a TV show, so I'm astounded that there is not accompanying merchandise. But what I did notice was that people were selling vintage Care Bears. "Hm," I thought to myself "I know I've got a few of those kicking around in the back of the garage." So after everyone was tucked in bed I did a little digging and found six of these little plush lovelies just dying to be played with again. That is, after they all had a good wash and spent the night drying by the fire.  Friend Bear and Tender Heart Bear

You may wonder why I had so many Care Bears as a kid. Well, half of these are my brother's, and half are mine. And therefore I decided to call him up and ask him if it was ok to let the boys play with his old toys. (I wanted to avoid the great Space Lego debacle of 1999. Don't ask.) Lotsa Heart Elephant and Swift Heart Rabbit

So I get him on the phone and say, "Hey, remember your old Care Bears?" and he's all like "oh, TenderHeart, Swift Heart Rabbit and Baby Tugs?" And I was all like "Wow, I'm so impressed you know all their names, I can barely remember the names of my own, and he says "you mean, Friend Bear, Baby Hugs and Lotsa Heart Elephant?" And I was all like "DUDE, your long term memory is RIDICULOUS!" Baby Tugs and Baby Hugs

As a side note, if you are his girlfriend and you are reading this, he has no reason EVER to forget your birthday or anniversary. If he can remember the names of his toys from the 80's, he should be able to remember when you started dating. Just sayin'.   So here I am (on the far right) at some point in the mid 80's officiating at the wedding of two of my favourite Teddy Bears. Please note that I am reading the actual form for marriage out of the back of the old Psalter Hymnal. If I was going to do it, I was going to do it right. Also, see how early I was a proponent of women in church office? Some things never change. Anyhow, my point is that there are all the Care Bears (or most of them) in the audience in the living room wedding chapel. And how sweet are my mom and sister, patiently humoring me as they sit through the whole thing no doubt. 

Anyhow, early in the morning today, when it was just me and the Baby up, we went downstairs and after taking these pictures put away all but two of them. I'll save the other four for various rainy days when the Little Dude is in need of a surprise. No need to flood the market as it were.     It also appears that the Baby has made his choice. I think he might get Baby Tugs as a re-gift from his Uncle Lemur Boy at his first birthday.

I waited until after breakfast to give Friend Bear and TenderHeart to L.D. And he was absolutely delighted with them. Along with his little purple bear, they are obviously a family as far as he's concerned.  He sat them all down together, re-united at last.

Then they got sat upon chairs...

...tucked into beds...

...and perched onto ladders. 

And just generally loved up. Though the clear winner by the end of the day is Tenderheart Bear. L.D. has declared that the Baby may have Friend Bear (a clear sign of disfavour) though as I tucked him into bed tonight I noticed that all Care Bears were present and accounted for. Its so funny and nice to see him playing with something that I played with once. Kind of lovely. And I have to say they must have been pretty well made because they washed up like a dream and are as soft and cuddly as ever. 

Special thanks to Uncle Lemur Boy, my little brother, for being so generous with his toys. He always was a good sharer. And it warms my heart to see another little boy loving that little brown bear. 

Comments

[Lisa D.]

My Cheer Bear, Secret Bear, Wish Bear and Bright Heart Raccoon and my brother's Swift Heart Rabbit and Grumpy Bear all sadly met their demise when my parents' basement flooded, or else I would've contributed them. And yes, I remembered the names of them as well without searching for it.

I think I used to do something like that with my dolls and the bunk bed ladder. No, I know I did, and I used a hankerchief as a doll hammock and each square formed by the ladder was a 'room'.

Incidentally, I don't believe in dating anniversaries, so he's safe in that regard.

[Marcia Van Drunen]

NICE! enjoy :)

[Mr. LemurBoy]

Hey, I'm more than happy to have my toys be played with again. Toys are meant to be played with!

The Great Space Lego Debacle of '99 only happened because Lego pieces are FAR too easy to lose or mix up in the boxes and all the pieces are in the right boxes and I'll be... ok, I'll stop.

[brooklyn_codger]

Awwwwwwwwwww. BEARS! So many things to love about this post.

[fingertrip pulse oximeter]

so nice to watch that baby girl playing her doll.