A Boy and His Blanket

When Seth came to me, he was six months old. He seemed small in his big crib. Because he was under one year old, foster care Minimum Standards states that babies cannot have blankets in their bed. I used warm pajamas and sleep sacks to keep him warm as the winter months came.

At Christmas time, someone donated many handmade blankets to my agency. When my agency case manager dropped off a bag of presents for him, there was this super soft knitted blanket that was blue with hints of white and tan mixed in. He was still too young to have it in his bed, though. So I held onto it for him.

Shortly after turning one year old, I gave him the blanket to see if he liked it. There seemed to be an almost immediate bond between him and this blanket. Before I knew it, not only was he sleeping with it at bed time and nap time; but he was wanting to take it with him everywhere. It was the most precious thing to see him grab his blanket, squish into a ball, and cuddle up with it when he was tired.

He is three years old now. His love for that blanket is even stronger. He calls it his "baby". He uses it to communicate with me at times. He will tell me, "Baby is tired." Or "Baby needs a hug". When he does that, I scoop up him and his blanket into my arms and hold them close.

This blanket goes with him everywhere. It is in his backpack when we go to church. He takes "baby" with him to daycare. He drags it around the house from room to room. If he is grumpy, he will find his blanket for comfort. If we go somewhere that I'm concerned that the blanket might get lost (like the zoo), I tell him the blanket has to stay in the car. Oh the joy on his face when he is reunited with his "baby" upon entering the car again. He is basically Linus from Charlie Brown. :)

I never would have guessed that this blanket would be so significant to him when it was given to us. I wish I could thank the lady who made it. I'm sure she it would bring joy to her heart to know that something she made brought so much happiness to a little boy.

It just goes to show that you don't have to foster to help the children. You can make blankets too. And maybe, just maybe, one of those blankets will go to a little boy or girl who will find comfort in the softness of the yarn that was carefully put together by your loving hands.