Have You Seen This Monkey?

Hoping For His Safe Return

My son, daughter-in-law, and Turkey Baby grandson were returning from Florida last night when calamity struck. Mattie went missing.

No, Mattie is not my grandchild. He’s a monkey. And not just a monkey- he’s my grandson’s lovey.

My kids think Turkey Baby may have dropped the monkey out of his stroller somewhere between security and the waiting area. Or the monkey didn’t want to leave Florida and bailed. Maybe he went looking for a banana. Who knows? Bottom line is he’s gone.

The first thing my DIL did when they got home is search for a replacement. As did I. However, this particular monkey has been retired. Luckily Just Hatched in Connecticut (from whence Mattie came) had one left. And then they called their warehouse and found another. Because you always need a spare. Both are on their way to Brooklyn where my kids live. Thank you to Sue at Just Hatched who understood the assignment- you will be getting all my future business.

If you are a parent, it’s likely you’ve been in this situation. I know I have. My oldest son’s favorite blankie was lost forever on a vacation in the Bahamas when it got scooped up with the bedding. I’m still annoyed that the hotel didn’t even try to look for it. Luckily, my middle son had the same blanket and wasn’t particularly attached to it, so we were able to give it to his brother. Who accepted it but was still sad about the one he had lost. He still has that pastel blanket- faded, torn and tattered, but still loved.

And then there was Sparky, a big Gund dog that my oldest son adored and carried around the house. One cold December night he place Sparky on the hearth in front of the fireplace so his buddy could get warm. You can probably guess what happened- Sparky’s face got burned. Thirty years later I can still see the stricken look on my son’s face when he realized what had happened. Oy, his guilt.

So I scooped up Sparky and told my son I was taking him to the stuffed animal hospital. I actually headed to the mall- I asked a friend to join me on my quest to find a new Sparky. We went store to store only to find out that like Mattie the Monkey, Sparky had been retired. But then, one kind salesperson in a big department store said he would check the stockroom. Lo and behold, right before the mall was about to close, he emerged with Sparky!! It was like a miracle.

When I returned home from the “hospital” my son was overjoyed to see Sparky restored to good health. We hid original Sparky for years until we felt our son could understand. Of course instead of being grateful, the kid acted appalled that we had lied to him. Annoying, right? Now that he’s a dad, I think he gets it. We still have Sparky 1 and Sparky 2.0.

Advice to all new parents, if your child has an object they love, buy multiples. Just in case.

Mattie the monkey was last seen in the Delta terminal at West Palm Beach airport on March 12th at around 6 pm.. If you have seen him, please get in touch. Although the Mattie replacements should arrive soon, it would nice to have Mattie the original back home where he belongs.