The Build A Bear Kerfuffle

Emily at Build A Bear a few years ago

We are a family who loves stuffed animals. I was never a doll person as a kid but I loved my stuffies. I still even have my Pooh Bear from when I was a kid. Emily and Todd both share this love, so we have made many, many trips to Build A Bear Workshop over the years.

I was vaguely interested in the "Pay Your Age" promotion they had going on. It wasn't something I was able to do though because Emily is still in Michigan with her grandparents. I didn't have to work yesterday and I wasn't feeling great, so I watched the whole thing unfold on the internet.

After promoting the hell of it on social media, I'm not sure why Build A Bear wasn't prepared for the onslaught of people. Especially because parents love a great deal since kids and their toys are expensive.

I'm a reader of comments when something like this explodes and it was interesting to read them yesterday. People were pissed, and that's putting it mildly. The amount of people who felt Build A Bear owed them something was astounding. And the people who waited in line for hours, the longest time I saw was eight hours, was crazy.

In the end, Build A Bear closed their stores because of safety concerns and then they sent everyone in the club (including me) a coupon for $15 off. I thought that was pretty awesome because now Emily can go and get a new bear once she gets home. And since she's 9, it will probably be close to the "Pay Your Age" price.

I learned that is is better to sit on the sidelines and watch than battle the crowds. And in this case, everyone wins because the $15 off is quite generous since some of the bears are less than $15.

Did any of you go to Build A Bear yesterday? Tell your story in the comments!

The Comfort of Stuffed Animals

I'm an adult, and most days I can adult ok. I'm a mom and a wife, I have a job and my house isn't a complete disaster. But I do have rough days thanks to having chronic pain. Especially on those rough days, I like snuggling stuffed animals.

When I was a kid, I always preferred stuffed animals to dolls. My favorite was my Pooh Bear that I got when I was only one. He's been snuggled and loved so much that he's nearly flat now. But I still have him and he's still my bear. He's not great for snuggling alone though since he's so flat.

Emily got the stuffed animal loving gene from me and has a lot of stuffies. When I was in the hospital many years ago, she gave me a teddy bear that was named Chronic Pain Bear. After Todd got diagnosed with MS, Chronic Pain Bear became his.

Last year, Emily and Todd got me a pink cat Build-A-Bear named Princess Leia. And then after Dragon Con, I finally bought the Captain America Build-A-Bear that I had been wanting. I named him Steve.

Steve is a comfort to me when my pain levels are bad or when the depression and anxiety kick in. It may not seem very adult to sleep with a stuffed animal, but for me it is. Coping however you can is extremely adult.

The Story of Pooh

Emily and I with Pooh Bear

When I was one, I got a small stuffed Pooh Bear as a present. He became my favorite stuffed animal and has been ever since. Even though he’s now 35 years old, I still have him and love him.

Pooh was yellow and came with his signature red shirt. He lost his shirt somewhere and became less and less yellow. When I was small, I slept with him every night. I remember my parents becoming distressed when I didn't want to sleep with him anymore when I was a little older. They convinced me that it was okay to still sleep with my Pooh.

I grew up and it was time to go off to college. I left Pooh at home because I didn't want to lose him. My mom bought me a giant Pooh to take to college.  After college, I moved back home. My mom passed away from cancer less than a week after I moved back, so I really needed my Pooh Bear then.

A year after my mom passed away, my daily chronic headaches started. My stuffed bear was something to cuddle during the long nights when the pain kept me awake. A few years after I had moved back home, I moved in with Todd. Pooh came with me this time, and I still slept with him sometimes.

Pooh ended up getting put up though because he would nearly always end up on Todd’s side of the bed. When I was really sick or in pain, I would cuddle him. Todd and I moved to North Carolina and then got married. Pooh, of course, made the journey with us. Then along came Emily.

Because Pooh is an old bear and has had to been stitched back together, I didn't let Emily near him for the first couple years of her life. Now that she is four, she adores Mommy’s Pooh. He usually stays in my room, but Emily will sleep with him for naps and will get him when she’s feeling sick.

Pooh has gone from just a beloved stuffed animal to a family heirloom. Hopefully he’ll be around for another 35 years!