Author: jeff noel

First time visitors, Sunday posts are brought to you courtesy of Lorie Sheffer, our good friend from Central Pennsylvania. Enjoy:

When my children were small, like most children, they had security items. My daughter had the satin edge from a blanket, which would twist in her hand, stick up her nose and tickle her ear. On her first day of kindergarten it was tucked in her pocket, safely out of sight of the other kids. One time she accidentally dropped it into a public toilet, and in an act of desperation that only a parent can understand, I fished it out and took it home for disinfecting.  My son had a small stuffed rabbit that he named Bonnie B. He would sneak it into my husband’s suitcase if he had to go out of town. We have photos of Bonnie on hotel beds in Portugal and Arizona. I suppose my son felt that if Bonnie comforted him, she would also comfort his dad while he was away from home. Thankfully Bonnie never took a swim in the john. That I know of.

As we get older, most of us have that favorite pair of well-worn jeans, or that soft old T-shirt that is full of holes, or maybe a favorite pair of slippers that we just can’t seem to part with. Many of us have photos of our kids and grandkids in our wallets or on our desktops. We love those little items from home.

My dad has now been in the ICU for a month. He is finally alert and can speak, and he is asking for things from home. Much to my amusement, he dictated a list for me, including his favorite shirt. He wanted me to leave right then and there to go retrieve the items he requested. Most of those things are not allowed at this point, but I am going to pack a bag for him. Mom and I will take in his pillow and some photos. At night when we leave and the ICU is dim and foreign, he will have something of home to focus on. I ride the elevators every day with people carrying pillows and blankets and stuffed animals, and not all of them are headed to pediatrics.

When you get home from a vacation, no matter how wonderful, are you happy to crawl into your own bed? If you get sick, is there a food that you just have to have? Do you take your own pillow when you travel? How about, like Archie Bunker, a comfortable chair that you sit on the watch TV?  It seems we all have them; those comfort items. We all have those special things that make us feel better, that soothe us and make us feel secure.

What is on your list? If you were away from home or sick, what would you ask for to make you feel more at home? My children are now adults and they no longer live with my husband and me, but when my daughter gets sick I automatically go get ingredients for my homemade beef noodle soup. My son was upset when I got a new fluffy pillow to replace the flat old pancake on his bed in his old room. I know I will always be on the losing end of the battle to throw away my husband’s old ratty T-shirts. As for me, if I’m feeling sick or sad, I just want to curl up with a bowl of vegetable fried rice and a fountain Coke, wrapped in my nap sized, down filled comforter with the snowman print. And if Leave it to Beaver happens to be playing on TV Land, well that’s just an added bonus.