It's Huggly

So, The Boss and I were Christmas shopping after enjoying steak and a tall cold Boulevard Wheat on tap at the Hereford House, when we came across a display of “Pillow Pets.” Captain Chaos had mentioned that she wanted one for Christmas. A Pillow Pet is a soft, cuddly pillow with a head. There is a Velcro strap that allows the pillow to be folded in half, giving it the appearance of an animal. When opened it is a small pillow. There are thirty-six different Pillow Pets, including dinosaurs, dolphins, whales, bees, unicorns, puppies and a ladybug. The Boss asked me which Pillow Pet I thought the girl would want. Without hesitation, I answered.


“Get her a ladybug.”

“A ladybug?” The Boss replied.

“Yes, a ladybug.”

“But she hates ladybugs.”

“She wants a LadyBug Pillow Pet,” I told her.

“Captain Chaos hates ladybugs. She screams when she sees them.”

“Fine, then get her another one. Get her the unicorn.”

We came home with a unicorn.

Two days later, Captain Chaos was at a mall with The Aunt, The Boss’s older sister. The Aunt listened carefully as Captain Chaos explained to the mall Santa that she wanted a ladybug Pillow Pet for Christmas, a revelation that brought great consternation to the Boss.

“You’re never going to believe this,” The Boss told me when she explained the Captain’s revelation.

What I couldn’t believe was how readily The Boss admitted that I was right. Christmas came early.

Returning the unicorn Pillow Pet was easy. Finding a ladybug Pillow Pet was not. Persistence paid off, and after a brief full body dive into a huge container of Pillow Pets at our local Wal*mart, The Boss emerged from the bottom of a display box with the last ladybug in the store.

Captain Chaos told us at dinner on Christmas Eve that she wanted a ladybug Pillow Pet for Christmas. She asked God for a Ladybug Pillow Pet during her prayers on Christmas Eve. She was thrilled to find one underneath our tree Christmas morning. She even remembered to thank God for her Pillow Pet during prayers last night.

But the best part of this tale came yesterday when Captain Chaos walked into our bedroom holding her ladybug to her chest and rubbing her cheek on the soft, fuzzy surface of the pillow.

“It’s huggly,” she told us.

So is she.