When I was 5 years old my Grandmother gave me a teddybear and a card. In the card she wrote "As you go through life you will go through many difficult times and your family and friends wont always be there to comfort you. But you can take your teddybear anywhere you go. He will always be there when you need a hug, Will always listen when you need to talk, and will never laugh at you when you need to cry". My Grandmother passed away 3 days later after giving me that teddybear.
Since then as i have gone through life I have collected teddybears from everyone in my life that has made a difference or a positive influence in my life. That way as i moved around the world with different duty stations, and being deployed around the world i could always take my friends and family with me, or thier teddybear that represented them as a token that kept them fresh in my head.
I could pick up any one of them, and it was like a stuffed memory cabinet. All the good times I shared with them came to life when i picked up the teddybear that person gave me.
Was a way I could keep a piece of home with me whenever i was around the world serving our country. Nice to have that one thing to hold on to to give you hope in times of trials and long deployments
and thats the story behind why i collect teddybears.
