Creating Dr. Teddy

At the last stages of the + years of 40, I experienced one of the joys of 4teen and once again concluded that being young has a lot to do with the state of mind and has some to do with the birth date on our official identity cards.

I was shopping for a graduation gift with the older 4teen and she decided that she wants to give the graduate a teddy bear as a gift. Mind you this teddy bear was not an ordinary one that you buy ready in the store, it was custom built in a fancy store where I spent a few hours of a very happy time. No drinks were involved!

We went into the build a bear store and started being GOD! First we started to choose the kind of stuffed animal that we want grizzly bear, panda bear, Koala bear, dog, cat, tiger, lion and the list goes on and on. Did I say that they came in various prices, some of them astronomical? Then we had to decide on the color of the animal, and there were so many of them that choosing was yet another cumbersome and fun task. An hour later we had a teddy bear that was chosen based on our financials and we were ready to pay when we realized that the teddy is just a piece of rag and it needed to be processed further.

Yes, the processing further meant that an employee needed to stuff the animal with the special material that is used to make them fluffy. Basically, we blew life into this piece of rag to give him soul and identity. We were also asked to kiss a small fabric heart and to wish something for the graduate and leave it in the teddy for good luck. Like a good affectionate mother, I wished the graduate to become a successful doctor.

Our Dr. Teddy looked great, but naked, so we dressed him. You should have seen the selection of clothing, shoes, underwear and specialty gears that were available to us. They had diving gear, safari suits, real suits, designer jeans and brand name boxers, just amazing!! We dressed our teddy in university T-shirt that he was graduating from and graduation cape and gown and very excited, we went to pay the Dr. Teddy that we had created. At the cashier we were notified that we have missed a step. That is, we had forgotten to print his birth certificate (BC). We could fill the birth certificate however we wanted, and the store will authorize the authenticity of it. I wanted the BC to read blue eyes with the height of 6”5, something that I secretly wished that I had!! Wow all done, we paid a week wages of the 4teen and left the store with a gorgeously wrapped teddy.

I don’t remember being this genuinely happy for such a long time. It was a lot of fun and I felt like a kid again. But now that the effect is gone, I can’t help but wonder what if I had the power to choose my own children and decide how they will look and what they will be? Appearance wise, would I have chosen the more expensive one that is trendier and more beautiful, or would I have chosen an ordinary one? Would I have wished them to have a successful career or would I have wished for health and happiness? Would the way that I would have dressed him, affect what he would have become? Would she have resented me if I would have made a choice that did not suit her?

The way I see it, I am so glad that I do not get to choose those things and as for the Dr. Teddy, I think we had a lot of fun making it, just not the traditional and biological way.