The Origin Story of Mr. Bear, AKA, Rosey Bear, AKA,
Band-aide Bear...
Five years ago, Ms. Esther felt like some of her problems that she had carried with her since childhood, were as big as a giant teddy bear. She doesn't really like talking about her childhood to this day, even though she is a therapist and knows the healing power of words. She is also a child therapist, and knows the healing power of play. So she thought to herself, maybe, Band-aide Bear could help fix her. She had never been allowed to be mad or angry in childhood, she thought maybe she could get mad and angry and sad with Band-aide Bear and it would be okay.
She had plans to destroy him. Rip him apart. Shred him. Cut him up into tiny pieces. So that something on the outside could look like how Ms. Esther felt on the inside. At the time, she truly felt Band-aide Bear would not see the next year....She was that angry with the world.
Though Band-Aide Bear's magical powers started to grow on Ms. Esther. Her plans on destroying him, slowly turned to love and respect, and like maybe, she was no longer alone with the secrets and pains she had kept buried inside since she was so very little.
Ms. Esther and Band-aide Bear have come along way together these past five years. At times, Ms. Esther ignored him, forgot about him, though he was still there for her. She decided that her pain didn't need to die or disappear or get ripped apart, it just needed a safe place to call Home. Band-aide Bear gave a safe place for all of Ms. Esther's scary thoughts and feelings. She was grateful for his gift to her.
After a long time of Band-aide Bear being stuck in a box, after a very long journey from Detroit, Michigan to Nashville, Tennessee, and then back to Lansing, Michigan, Ms. Esther's hometown, Ms. Esther decided it was time for Band-aide Bear to have a new proper Home. And so, he came to stay with her in her therapy playroom, and he has been watching over her and so many wonderful kiddos ever since. Oh my, the adventures Band-aide Bear has seen in his time!
Several years later, he is a little worse for wear....He has some well earned scars he is no longer ashamed of having. After many years of protecting kiddos in Ms. Esther's playroom, Ms. Esther brought him Home with her, so that he is not all alone during all of this scary stuff going on in the world right now. We were told to stay at Home, so he came Home with me. He has been feeling a little sick, and plain old worn out. Though he is enjoying being Home with Ms. Esther, and she has promised him to take good care of him, as he has done for her all these years. He is enjoying the fresh air.
Band-aide Bear wears his scars proudly. What scars of yours do you feel are hidden on the inside, that you really wish someone could see on the outside? Which ones do you wish you could wear proudly like a badge of honor? Ask your parent if you can have a Band-aide or two, and place it on one of your favorite stuffies. Your stuffie is now helping you carry some of those pains that are no longer invisible to the world around, so you can finally start to heal little by little. Stuffies help us all remember we aren't ever truly alone or invisible, even when we may feel like it on the inside. Give a big hug to your stuffie, tell them your story if you feel like it. Or don't tell them your story if you don't quite have the words. Your stuffie still knows your pain and is still there for you no matter what. Remember, you are not alone.
