Chauncey’s Blankie

My father brought home two blanket’s that he acquired on the plane trip to and back from Nicaragua on a mission’s trip twenty years ago. I had made soft cozy yummy quilts for all three of my kids but when Chauncey, age two, got his hands on the two scratchy very unyummy blankets, it was game over. He had a death grip on them both for years to come.

While one blanket was in the wash the other was on active duty. He took them everywhere and his father and I drove endless miles rescuing the active duty blanket, when forgotten, from filthy McDonalds ball pits all over the tri state area. We retraced our stroller ride journeys in the dark and in the rain for a blanket fallen overboard into the gutter and covered in mud. No one settled into bed for the night until full retrieval and rescue had occurred.

I rocked him to sleep for his afternoon naps singing Sunshine On My Shoulders, I’ve Been Working On The Railroad, I Love You A Bushel And A Peck, People Smile And Tell Me I’m The Lucky One and Baby Beluga almost every day after lunch and then I would lay him in this rocking chair. He is my baby. I memorized every freckle on his little hands, arms, face and legs while I sang.

I remember saying to myself, “Remember every single moment of this. Remember the sound of his breathing, the smell of his skin and hair, his beautiful face”. I can still feel my arm and fingers tingling and falling asleep under the weight of his head resting in the bend of my elbow.

“This time will go by fast, see everything, absorb everything, and remember everything”. I remember everything and I took nothing for granted. Now he is a man, right now at Fort Dix for Warrior Challenge. I still have a small swatch of his blanket. He will always be my baby. His skin and hair still smell like fresh air and warm sunshine.❤😊

Written by Margaret Von Seggern, 2021

photo.Margaret Von Seggern.2000