Benjamin Enters the Fray

Biwi snickered as I stumbled over a giant box of crayons on the kitchen floor, zooming his camera in for an extreme close-up of my face. As I reached out to grab hold of a chair to keep myself from falling, I noticed that the floor was covered by a large assortment of Teds hunched over several open boxes of crayons, a rainbow of colored pens, reams of colored construction paper, plastic scissors, white glue, clear glue, glue sticks, and various other implements of artistic intent.

“Does your mother know you’re doing all of this?” I inquired.

“’Course she does,” Benjamin responded, looking up from the poster he was working on.

“I take it you’re responsible for organizing this?” I said, indicating the whole topsy-turvy floor with a sweep of my free hand.

“As usual, yes,” Benjamin answered. “I’m always in charge of all the important stuff,” he added pompously.

“Then I presume you realize you will also be held accountable for cleaning everything up once you’ve finished whatever it is you are engaged in? Including any stray crayon marks and other unintended consequences of arming so many Teds with markers of mass destruction?” I countered.

“Oh…yeah…well, I’m sure we’ll get it all cleaned up when we’re done,” he hedged.

“Don’t worry, Daddola,” chimed in Brighton, “I’ve already got the clean-up committee organized. Mack’s the chair.”

“I am heartened to hear that the clean-up is in such good paws. I can now be certain that this room will be spick-and-span by the time your mother has to get in here and start cooking dinner,” I told her.

“By the way, Benjamin, what are you all working on so diligently?” I further inquired.

“My campaign,” he replied, puffing himself up even more with pride.

“Campaign?” I asked. “What campaign?”

“Really, Dad, you should keep up with current events more,” he admonished me. “My campaign for the presidency.”

“Presidency?” I managed to rather inanely repeat. “I thought you had already been elected to the presidency of Teddy Bear College.”

“Not that presidency,” he corrected me, not without some asperity. “The presidency.”

“The…?” I couldn’t help but founder.

“Of the United States!” he nearly shouted. “I’m running for President of the United States of America!”

“But we already have a president,” I objected, even more confused than before, if that were possible, which I suppose it was, because I definitely was more confused.

“I guess you could say that,” he said dismissively. “I’m getting ready for the next election. After I’m elected, I’m going to be a real president.”

“What’s wrong with our current president?” I wondered.

“The same thing’s wrong with all our other presidents,” was Benjamin’s ready answer. “They never do what they say they’re gonna do when they’re running for election.”

“They don’t?” I asked, surprised.

“’Course not,” he responded, clearly disgusted with my naiveté. “They promise whatever they think will get them elected, and then once they’re elected, they do whatever they want, which is usually totally different from what they promised.”

“Do you really think that’s true?” I asked.

“Sure. Look at the Republicans,” he suggested. “They promised heaven on earth, and ended up giving us pure hell.”

“Hmm, well, you’ve got me there,” I agreed. “But what about the Democrats? Surely, they’re more trustworthy than the slimy Republicans.”

“Oh, you think so?” he sneered. “They promised everything would change, but then nothing changed. So that’s just like the Republicans, only the Democrats promised us everything and ended up giving us nothing.”

“I’m afraid I have to concede your point on that one, too,” I admitted reluctantly.

“I should think so,” he huffed. “I’ve put a lot of thought into all of this over the years. I’ve waited and waited for the politicians to come to their senses and do the right thing. Finally, though, I realized they don’t have any senses to come to. So I decided it’s time somebody showed them how to do it right, and that somebody is me. So I’m throwing my hat into the ring.”

“I didn’t know you weared a hat, Benjamin,” Itsy exclaimed, peeking down at Benjamin on the floor from where she stood, towering above him from on top of the table.

“I only wear it on special occasions,” he retorted. “It’s…oh, for heaven’s sake,” he interrupted himself, “that’s just an expression. It means….”

“I hate ‘spreshuns!” Itsy told him indignantly.

“Yes, yes, we’re all quite aware of your aversion to expressions,” he sighed, dismissing her objection. “This one simply means that I am adding my name to the list of candidates for the presidency.”

“You coulda just said that in the first place,” Itsy informed him before disappearing from sight.

“OoOh!” he grumped. Brighton put her arms around him, and soothed him with a kiss on the cheek.

Trying to get the conversation more or less back on track, I asked Benjamin, “What’s your campaign slogan going to be?”

“We’re still working on that,” he confided. “So far we’ve got a couple of possibilities. I kind of like, ‘Let’s Get It Right This Time.’”

“That’s not too bad,” I temporized, “although it reminds me a little of Obama’s ‘Change We Can Believe In.’”

“That’s the idea, but we’re implying we’ll make the right changes,” he noted.

“It never hurts to denigrate the opposition, I suppose,” I mused.

“’Specially if you can do it in a underhanded way,” he said.

“I see you really do have the makings of a master politician,” I stroked him. “What other possible slogans have been suggested?”

“Well, there’s, ‘A Warm and Fuzzy White House,’” he offered, “or maybe a rhyming slogan like, ‘A Hug and a Kiss Would Not Be Amiss’ or perhaps something more direct, like, ‘Keep It Stuffed, Sweetheart!’ Get it?”

“Couldn’t miss it,” I nearly groaned. “Look, your slogans seem to be on the right track, but what kind of platform are you offering?”

“Oh, we’ve got a sure-fire platform!” he enthused.

“Okay, lay it on me,” I said, inwardly squinching.

Benjamin crooked his head to one side and looked at me suspiciously, “Are you inwardly flinching?” he demanded.

“Who, me? Flinch? Inward? Never,” I replied. That was the truth, too. Well, I hadn’t been flinching, inwardly or not. I’d been squinching. So what if they mean the same thing. The point was…well, the point was that I didn’t want to tell Benjamin what I had been doing inwardly. So I didn’t.

To distract him, I told him, “I’m eager to hear your platform. I’m extremely keen to hear more. Please do enlighten me.”

“Well,” he hesitated, but for only a millisecond, “first off, of course, we’re going to do away with all taxes. No more taxes!”

“That’ll be a real vote-getter, that’s for sure,” I admitted. “But how are you going to pay for all of the government programs? How are you going to pay for the military? And, more to the point, how are you going to pay your own salary?”

“Easy!” he assured me. “We’re going to hold fun raisers! Every day! 24 hours a day. We’re going to have fun raisers 24/7! Isn’t that brilliant?”

“Magnificent,” I agreed. “Truly boffo.”

“Plus we’re going to print more money, with pictures of famous Teddy bears on it. So there’ll be lots of money coming in. But there’s more,” he continued. “We’re going to abolish war!” he proudly declared.

“Oh, that’s a good one,” I said. “But, umm, what happens when countries have a disagreement and they’re unable to reach an agreement even after extensive peace talks? How are they going to settle them?”

“Oh, we’re doing away with peace talks, too,” he told me. “They don’t work all that good anyway. No, we’re going straight to the games.”

“Games?” I asked, puzzled.

“Sure,” he reassured me. “Each country involved will get to pick a sport or whatever kind of game they like, and then the countries’ll have their champions play each other in those games. Whoever wins the majority of the games, wins the argument. Couldn’t be simpler.”

“No, it certainly couldn’t,” I had to once again agree. “Do you have any other planks in your platform?”

“Yeah, we’re going to put a Teddy in every home!” he told me.

“Well, that’s certainly going to be a popular plank,” I said.

“And the great thing is that then we’ll be able to keep an eye on everybody in the country,” he revealed.

“Keep an eye on…?” I stammered, dumbfounded.

“Sure!” he crowed. “We already know human beans can’t be trusted to keep out of trouble on their own. They need help from us Teds. So all Teds will be reporting to Birnie about what their human beans are doing. Birnie’s going to be head of my secret service, the BIA. That way, if anybody gets out of line, Birnie and Biwi can give them a good talking to and make sure they straighten up and fly right.”

“Straighten up and fly…,” I continued to splutter, unable to believe what I was hearing.

“Human beans have been screwing things up for too long,” Benjamin averred. “It’s long past time somebody took charge and made them shape up. Who better to do that than Teddy bears?”

“Umm, well,….” What could I say? “What if the voters don’t like the idea of the government watching their every move?”

“Why should they object?” he wanted to know. “The government’s already doing it. We’re just going to do it better is all. Plus, we don’t have to tell them that’s what we’re going to do. We’ll just tell them they’ll get a free Teddy once we get elected.”

“Isn’t that a little underhanded?” I asked. Or is that “underpawed”? I wondered to myself.

“So? That’s how you do it,” he assured me. “You tell ‘em what they want to hear and don’t tell ‘em what they don’t want to hear.”

“You certainly do seem to have this politician thing down pat,” I acknowledged. “But aren’t you going to have a tough time carrying out all of your promises once you’re elected?”

“Oh, that’s no problem,” he poo-pooed. “Once you get elected, you don’t have to worry about all of that. Forget all your promises. Once you’re in, you’re the one in charge, and you can do whatever you want.”

“Uh, isn’t that the kind of thing that made you want to run for election in the first place – to do away with false promises?” I asked.

“Not really,” he corrected me. “I want to get elected, so I can run this country the way it should be run. You have to tell everybody what they want to hear to get elected because they’re just a bunch of human beans. They’re confused. They don’t really know what’s good for them and the country.”

“And you do?” I wondered.

“’Course!” he exclaimed. “That’s why I’m running! Once I get into office, I’ll whip this country into shape in no time!”

“I’m sure,” I said noncommittally. In an effort to change the subject somewhat, I asked, “So what are you going to call your party?”

“We’re still in the early stages on that,” he informed me. “Kippy suggested the Bull Moose Party because that’s what Teddy Roosevelt called his party when he ran for a third term. But I don’t think that works. We don’t even have any stuffed moose in our party yet. Besides, that party lost.”

“Good point,” I said.

“Yeah, so we’re trying to find a name that will appeal to the masses, if you know what I mean,” he confided.

“I think I’m beginning to get the picture,” I said.

“Right now I’m kind of leaning toward either the ‘Warm and Fuzzy Party’ or the ‘Par-dee Party,’” he said.

“Well, they both have a certain appeal,” I assured him, crossing the fingers of my free hand behind my back.

Just then, “Ka-WHOOMPF!” Itsy’s cannon sounded, and an even more terrible racket arose from the hallway behind me, sounding rather like Spike Jones on drugs. Turning around I saw a little line of Teds marching into the kitchen, with Itsy proudly leading the way (with her bonnet either set at a jaunty angle or just as askew as ever) pulling her cannon behind her. Immediately behind her marched Lily-pop blowing enthusiastically, if tunelessly, on a party horn. Behind Lily-pop strode Waldo loudly and wildly unrhythmically beating on a toy drum, while Sparkie brought up the rear, unsteadily bearing a big sign with “Itsy for Prinzess, Kween, Kink, and Impress” scrawled across it in a hallucinogenic rainbow of colors.

The noise was so loud I could barely hear Benjamin exclaim, “Oh, for heaven’s sake!” behind me. However, it was somewhat easier to then hear him shriek at the top of his little warm-and-fuzzy lungs, “What do you think you’re doing? Are you trying to make me lose the election? You can’t run for the presidency, too! That’ll just play into the hands of the opposition by splitting the vote!”

Itsy started to answer him, “I ain’t….”

But he interrupted her to complain, “What? I can’t hear you!”

Deciding she was too far away from him, she marched over to him until she stood right under his snout, and tried again, “I ain’t run….”

“What? I still can’t hear you!” he yelled. “Your band is too loud! Can’t you tell them to put a lid on it?”

“We don’t got a lid!” Itsy yelled back. “We….”

Trying to forestall another round of bickering between the two of them, and at the same time keep my eardrums from bursting and my nose from starting to bleed copiously, I reached down and gently removed the horn from Lily-pop’s paws and the drumsticks from Waldo’s. The cacophony ceased immediately, returning blessed quiet to the room.

“I’ll return these to you later,” I assured them, “should you want to practice some more outside. All musical practicing shall from this day forth be done outside, far from the house, preferably deep within the woods if you can manage it. You certainly need have no fear of wild animals attacking you while you’re making such, um, glorious ‘euphony’ together.”

“Okay,” Itsy agreed. “But we’re gonna make music together, too.”

“Oh, quite,” was all I could think to say to that.

“And it won’t be any phony kinda music neither,” she corrected me.

“Of course not,” I said. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Sheesh, today was certainly a day for disinformation.

Meanwhile, Benjamin had apparently decided to take a more tempered and diplomatic approach. Putting on his best smilely face, he addressed her softly and gently, “Look, Itsy, sweetheart,” he began, oil dripping metaphorically from every pore – you couldn’t help but admire just how much of a politician he was turning out to be, “this isn’t the time for bickering. After all, we’re not Democrats. We Teds need to stick together. United we stand, and all that.”

His whole performance was so unlike him that even Itsy had to stand mutely and marvel. Either that, or she was wondering if some weird spirit or demon was inhabiting Benjamin’s body, kind of like George W getting his strings pulled by Cheney. Whatever her reasons, she let him blather on for now.

“The only way we’re going to get our paws inside the White House is to work together. You can see the sense in that, can’t you?” he implored. Wisely, he chose not to give her the opportunity to respond, but plunged ahead with his desperate appeal, “I’m sure we can pool our resources and come out an even stronger and more viable force on the political scene than we already are.

“Here’s what I suggest we do. Let’s run together on the same ticket! I’ll run for president just like I was planning to. After all mean, I’m the stronger candidate at the moment. I have more name recognition than you, right now anyway, what with me just coming off my address to the United Nations and everything. Once I, er, we, get elected, though, you’ll get lots more publicity, and your name recognition will sky rocket. I can’t make you Vice President because Brighton’s going to be that. I can’t make you Secretary of State either because Biwi’s going to be that. I could make you Secretary of the Inferior,” he mused, obviously winging it now.

“Or, I could put you on the Supreme Court,” he continued, on a roll by this time. “I’m going to fire all of them and start over with a clean slate. About time, too. They can’t even tell a chad from a hole in a card for heaven’s sake. I can’t make you Chief Justice because that position’s made for Mack. But I can put you in Clare Thomas’s seat. He never says anything anyway, thank heaven.”

“Not like me,” Itsy managed to squeeze into Benjamin’s diatribe. “I say lots of things all the time.”

“Indeed,” he acknowledged, pausing for moment to peer down benevolently at his little sister. “So, what do you say?” he asked congenially. “We join forces, make our two parties one, you quit running for president and….”

“I ain’t runnin’ for president,” Itsy informed him. “You can go ahead and run for it if you want.”

This statement stopped Benjamin mid-peroration. Catching his breath, eyes big with surprise, he asked, “What did you say?”

“I ain’t runnin’ for president,” Itsy repeated. “I been trying to tell you that.”

“Yeah, but, but…” It was now his turn to stutter. “Why do you have a band and a campaign poster and everything?”

“I’m gonna be princess, queen, king, empress,” she told him. “I’ll be over you when you’re president. I’m gonna be your boss!” she informed him triumphantly.

For a moment, Benjamin was actually silent. He was dumbfounded. Then he laughed and said, “Okay, then, go ahead and run for all those things. I don’t care. You probably won’t get elected anyway.”

“Will too,” Itsy insisted.

“Will not,” Benjamin returned.

“Will too,” Itsy shot back.

“Okay, okay,” I intervened. “That’s enough. I think we’re all agreed that you can both go ahead and run whatever campaigns you want. Right?”

“Yetz!” Itsy replied snappily, immediately firing off her cannon, “Ka-WHOOMPF!”

“Oh, for heaven’s sake,” Benjamin grumped, paws to his ears.

“Do you agree, Benjamin?” I prompted him.

“What? Oh, yeah, sure, whatever,” he muttered, starting to turn back to his poster-making.

Trying to sidetrack Itsy from any more confrontations with Benjamin, I asked her, “So what are you going to call your party?”

“Well,” she said, “I wanted to call it ‘Itsy’s Girls Rule Party,’ but Letta and Biwi said that wouldn’t work ‘cause boys wouldn’t think they could vote for a party called that, they’re so stupit.”

“Um, yes, that makes a kind of sense, I guess,” I waffled. “So what are you going to call it?”

“Itsy’s Birfday Party!” she yelled out enthusiastically.

“Oh, for heaven’s sake,” said Benjamin, turning back to face Itsy again. “That doesn’t make any sense!”

“Yetz it does,” Itsy affirmed. “Somebody’s always having a birfday every day. So we’re just going to make it a rule that everybody has a birfday party for somebody every day! That way everybody gets cake and honey and presents every day. Who couldn’t like that rule?” she wanted to know.

Benjamin stopped in his tracks, scratched his head, looked thoughtful, then, with a look of pleasant surprise on his face, he said, “You know, that actually could work.”

“’Course it could!” Itsy agreed. “I thought it up, and I’m a girl, and girls are always right.”

“Humph, well, we’ll let that slide for now,” Benjamin decided, apparently still in a residual diplomatic mode. “But, you know, if we worked that in with my 24/7 Fun Raiser Days platform, we might have a real game stopper here.”

“What game?” Itsy wanted to know.

“Huh? Oh, that’s just an…, um, never mind,” Benjamin replied. “Let’s focus on the Everyday’s a Birthday Fun Raiser scheme for now,” he suggested, actually putting his arm around her shoulders and bending down to go into a political huddle with her. “We can give people Teddies for presents. That’ll be a great way to covertly deliver our agents into homes across the country!”

Talk about your strange bedfellows.

I took this moment of temporary détente to leave the room, stealthily tip-toeing away before all hell could break loose once more. I wanted to find a place to hide a toy horn and drum sticks where I could be certain no Teddy would ever find them again. Fat chance, I know. But I had to try. No matter where I went, I could still hear murmurs and chuckles of political intrigue emanating from the kitchen. It looks like we were in for some interesting times ahead, heaven help us.

Let It Snow!

 

Thea and I had been awakened shortly after dawn by a chorus of Itsy, Waldo, and Sparkie shouting, “Snow! Snow!” with a counterpoint little shout of “Thnow!” from Lily-pop. Meanwhile Biwi was belting out his very own song, “Wake up and live!” So, with little other choice, we woke up and lived.

The sky was indeed unloading a gawd-awful abundance of huge snowflakes on us. It felt as though we lived inside one of those little shake-and-flake snow globes.

After a breakfast of hot oatmeal and cocoa, everyone suited up in their warmest coats, hats, and mittens, and we went out into the blizzard. All except Bentley, that is, who remained indoors, snuggled warmly under his blankie, deep in hibernation.

In an attempt to siphon off some of the Teds’ excess energy, I first created a hill of snow that had different levels of slopes on each of its sides, varying from very gentle to extremely steep. The Teds boisterously began sledding and tobogganing down the hill even before I’d completed it. A daring few, with Birnie’s help, made skis out of popsicle sticks and skied down, shrieking with excitement all the while.

Of course, a series of snowball fights began as soon as the Teds hit the ground, although Thea gave strict instructions that no one could throw anything at the littlest ones. Itsy, however, showed Lily-pop, Waldo, and Sparkie how to take full advantage of their immunity by throwing snowballs at all of the bigger Teds. Happily, they couldn’t throw very hard or far, so even those few of their tiny snowballs that found a target did no damage. They enjoyed themselves immensely, nonetheless, not the least because they felt they were getting away with something.

Once I finished the snow hill, I began work on a large snowbear, with the help of Mack, Paddington, Kippy, Mr. Fluffy, Letta, Shoshonna, Birnie, Biwi, Brighton, and Benjamin. We first rolled up a big round ball of snow to serve as the base, then piled on two more big balls, in slightly decreasing sizes, one on top of the other. Mack, Paddington, and I next worked at forming two legs. Our snowbear sat comfortably on the ground and would eventually have his two arms stretched out to catch the snowflakes. Birnie and Biwi formed two ears and a snout, while the rest worked at packing snow in between the three big balls of snow. We would top it all off with two arms, a tail, and two black stones for eyes.

As I began attaching one of the snowbear’s arms with the help of Mack and Paddington, Itsy scrambled over and started bombarding us with her miniature snowballs. Letta took pity on us and came over to teach the little ones how to make snow angels. Itsy immediately threw herself into the production of seven or eight snow angels and just as quickly lost interest. Emerging from a mound of snow right at my feet, she looked up, with bonnet quite askew, and asked me, “Do you have a cannon, too, like me?”

Patting the snowbear’s arm into place at the shoulder, I answered, “No, I don’t. You’re the only one I know who has a cannon.”

“Oh,” she said. “Then what do you need to get ammo for?”

“Ammo?” I asked. “I don’t need any ammo.”

“Then why are you and Mommola gonna have a ammovursory?” she asked.

I interrupted my patting of the arm long enough to look down at her with, no doubt, a very puzzled look on my wind-reddened face. “We’re going to have a what?” I asked, blowing out a big funnel of steam from my mouth.

“A ammovursory,” she answered. “Letta said you and Mommola are gonna have a ammovursory pretty soon.”

Popping out from behind the snowbear’s other arm, Letta clarified, “She means anniversary. I told the little ones you and Mommola are going to celebrate your anniversary this month.”

“Yetz!” Itsy agreed. “That, too!”

“Ah, I see,” I said. Looking down at Itsy, I explained, “Mommola and I are going to celebrate our wedding anniversary in a few days. Every year we celebrate the day we got married and swore to love and cherish each other forever afterwards.”

“You sweared at each other?!” she exclaimed.

Chuckling, I assured her, “No we didn’t swear at each other. We never swear at each other. Only other people.”

“Oh,” she said. “But you said….”

“Yes, I know, but what I meant to say was that we promised to love and cherish each other all the rest of our days.”

“So when we have the party are you going to swear again?” Waldo wanted to know.

“Um, not exactly,” I told him. “But we are going to take the opportunity to remind each other exactly how much we mean to each other.”

“Why do you have to be reminded?” Sparkie wondered. “Don’t you remember it already?”

“Oh, we never forget how much we love each other,” I assured him. “Our love for each other is always there at the back of our minds and deep in our hearts. But sometimes we get caught up in other things that we are doing and don’t think so much about how much we love each other.”

“You should remember more,” Lily-pop admonished me.

“You are so right, little one,” I told her, picking her up and giving her a quick kiss before setting her, giggling, back down on the ground again.

“I bet Mommola remembers,” Itsy said. “She’s a girl. Girls remember better.”

“You’re probably right,” I agreed.

“I am,” she said. “I’m a girl.”

“Oh, for heaven’s sake,” Benjamin huffed indignantly while working on the snowbear’s snout.

“Now, dear, she’s just a baby,” Brighton soothed him.

“I’m a big baby!” Itsy insisted.

“You can say that again,” Benjamin frumped.

“Okay,” Itsy rejoined. “I’m a big baby!”

“OoOH!” Benjamin grumped, but Brighton managed to gently direct his attention back to the construction of the snowbear’s snout.

“Can we come to the party, too?” Waldo wanted to know.

“Yeth, can we, pleathe?” trilled Lily-pop.

“Yeah, please, please, please!” Sparkie, Itsy, and Waldo chanted, jumping up and down in the snow with manic enthusiasm, with Lily-pop piping, “Pleathe!” in counterpoint.

“Of course!” I said. “All of the Teds are invited.”

“Yay!” shouted every Ted in the backyard. “Par-dee!”

“We couldn’t celebrate properly without you,” I assured them.

“You couldn’t?” asked Itsy.

“Of course not,” I said. “Our anniversary is the day we remind each other of all of the special things we love about each other. And each and every one of you is part and parcel of some of the most important things we share with each other.”

“We are?” asked Lily-pop, amazement in her tiny voice.

“You most certainly are,” I told them.

“How do we do that?” Sparkie asked.

“Yeah, how?” Waldo also wanted to know.

“Well,” I began, while bending over to add more snow to our snowbear’s shoulder, “first off, you don’t live in the real world….”

“I should hope not!” Benjamin interjected. “I don’t believe in Realty! It sucks!”

“Yeah, it sucks!” echoed Waldo.

“Oh, I wouldn’t go that far,” I said, “but I know what you mean. Reality tends to be a place where everyone thinks about and interacts with material things. The things of reality don’t seem to have a life of their own. They’re thought of as just dead matter.”

“Ugh!” said Benjamin.

“Ick,” said Brighton.

“Poopie!” opined Itsy, who was immediately and gleefully echoed by her chorus of little ones, “Yeah, poopie! Poopie, poopie, poopie!”

“Yes, well, be that as it may,” I hastily spoke up. “It isn’t always fun living in the real world. And as everyone who knows anything knows, you have to get some fun out of life! Otherwise it just isn’t worth living.”

“You can’t live at all if you don’t have any fun,” agreed Benjamin.

“Well, some people try,” I informed him. “In fact, some people get to be really good at not having any fun.”

“That isn’t any fun,” observed Itsy indignantly.

“No, it isn’t,” I agreed. “And that’s where you Teds come in.”

“It is?” asked Waldo in amazement.

“Yes, it is,” I said. “As I said before, you don’t live in the real world. You live in the bright and beautiful world of imagination.”

“Sometimes it could get dark and cold, though,” said Sparkie, thoughtfully.

“Oh, sure,” I agreed. “Just because you live in the imaginary world doesn’t mean there can’t sometimes be pain and sorrow there. It isn’t all fun and happiness.”

“Oh,” said Lily-pop quietly, looking sad.

“But you always know the pain and sorrow, when they come, won’t stay long. They don’t last,” I told them.

“They don’t?” asked Sparkie.

“Why not?” asked Itsy.

“Because you can always imagine something else that’s bright and joyful,” I said. “Things like friends and laughter and making snow angels and drinking hot cocoa with the little white things in it on a cold, wintry day like today.”

“Yeah, it’s cold today, but we don’t care,” said Sparkie. “’Cause we’re having fun!”

“Exactly,” I said. “Because in our imaginary world everything is alive and always changing in new and fun ways. But in the real world there’s always the chance that you get so stuck in unhappy things that you start to think you can never get out of them.”

“But you can get out of them!” Itsy insisted.

“Yes, absolutely,” I agreed wholeheartedly, “You can get unstuck from your unhappiness by taking a chance and stepping into the imaginary world where you never know what’s around the next corner, and where there’s always the hope of a better tomorrow.”

“You can never get to tomorrow,” Itsy informed me. “Tomorrow never gets here. You can only get to today.”

“That is so true,” I said. “Nevertheless, things change. They change all the time. Things get better for a while, then they get worse, and then better again. But you can see that much more easily in the imaginary world.”

“But how do you know things will get better?” Benjamin wanted to know.

“Well, you never really know, in the sense that people in the real world mean when they say they know something,” I mused. “That is, you can’t make a timetable that will tell you exactly when things will get better. But you can know in the sense that you have faith that things will get better. But faith is something you can have only in the imaginary world. There isn’t much room for faith in the real world. It isn’t something you can touch and feel. Neither is hope or charity or any of the other virtues of a full life. Those are only available in the imaginary world. And that’s where Teddy Bears live.”

“Yetz!” Itsy enthused. “’Cause we’re the goodest!”

“You are indeed,” I agreed. “You’re playful and silly and full of fun and laughter and joy. You live in the moment and feel it to the fullest. Those are all reasons you are so important to Mommola and me. You keep the child in us alive.”

“Are you going to have a baby?” Itsy asked excitedly.

“No, not that kind of child,” I chuckled. “I mean the children we were when we were little ourselves.”

“Ha, ha, ha!” Itsy laughed. “You and Mommola couldn’t never be little!”

“Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!” joined in Waldo, Lily-pop, and Sparkie.

“I wouldn’t tell your mother that, if I were you,” I admonished them. “Besides, funny as it may seem, I assure you Mommola and I were little children at one time, long, long ago.”

“Before Benjamin got borned?” Itsy wanted to know.

“Oh, long before then,” I said.

“Oh,” she said in awe. “Gosh, you’re old!”

“Which is why we know everything,” I lied.

“Oh,” she said again.

“Anyway,” I continued, “as I was saying – you Teds remind Mommola and me of how to see the world like children do. Children don’t live in the world the way grown-ups do. Everything is new to them. They don’t see the difference between the real and the imaginary worlds that we do when we get older. They live in both worlds at one time and don’t see any difference between the two. Every experience is magnified for them. They feel everything more deeply than grown-ups do. Their little lives vibrate with bright colors, deep enchanting smells, clarion sounds, astounding tastes, intense feeling, and wonder.

“But as children get older and turn into grown-ups, they are taught to live more and more in only the real world. They are told in so many ways that if they want to be a grown-up, they have to leave the imaginary world behind.”

“Oh, no,” sympathized Itsy. “That’s sad.”

“Yes, it is sad,” I agreed. “Very sad. Which is why you Teds are so important to Mommola and me. Besides the fact that we love you very much, you also remind us of how we saw the world when we were children – not as either the real world or the imaginary world but as a blending of the two. You see, it is very hard for grown-ups to see the world that way. But we can only truly know what it means to have faith, hope, and joy if we can live and play in the imaginary world as well as in the real world.”

“Oh,” was all Itsy could say to all of that. Everyone else was suddenly very quiet, thinking about everything I had just told them.

“Most important of all, however,” I added, “is that love lives best in the imaginary world. So all of you remind us of just how deeply and thoroughly we love each other. Your soft, cuddly little bodies remind us how important it is for us to hug and kiss each other and to reaffirm our love through touch and snuggles as well as by telling each other, ‘I love you.’

“So you see,” I told them, “you have to come to our anniversary party. We couldn’t have it without you. Because of you, Mommola and I have learned that we could never see each other or the world as clearly as we see it through your eyes.”

“You can’t see out my eyes!” Itsy protested.

“That’s just an expression, Itsy,” Letta tried to explain.

“I hate ‘spreshuns!” Itsy exclaimed. “People should just say what they mean and not use ‘spreshuns!”

“No need to throw a fit,” Benjamin admonished her.

“I’m not frowing anything!” Itsy insisted. “But I will in a minute,” she added, bending down to grab some snow for a snowball.

“Oh, for heaven’s sake,” Benjamin muttered.

“That was just an…,” Brighton began to explain to Itsy.

“I don’t think it would be a good idea to tell her that right now,” Letta suggested.

“Tell me what?” asked Itsy as she quickly formed her snowball.

“Oh, for heaven’s sake,” Benjamin said, repeating himself.

“Never mind,” said Brighton.

“Okay,” Itsy said, as she cocked her arm back to throw her snowball.

Just then, Thea opened the back door and called out, “Who wants hot cocoa?”

And just like that, all animosities were forgotten, Itsy dropped her snowball, and the full embrace of Teds in the yard stampeded up to and through the back door, yelling, “Yayyyyy!!!!” all the way.

“Good timing,” I told my love, as I stamped the snow off my boots just inside the door. “As usual,” I added, giving her a peck on her soft, warm cheek.

Outside the heavens took the opportunity to dump another deluge of mammoth snowflakes on all of eternity. “Oh, my!” I exclaimed, with equal parts of dismay and wonder. “Definitely good timing,” I repeated, taking my mug of hot cocoa and going into the living room to settle down in my big, comfortable chair before the roaring fire.

“Don’t worry,” my sweetie consoled me, and she began to sing, “’Oh, the weather outside is frightful…’”

At which point I joined her, raising my mug toward the fireplace in a salute and singing, “’But the fire is so delightful…’”

Then older Teds joined us in singing, “’And since we’ve no place to go…’”

At which point, everyone joined in and sang out, “’Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!’”

Here's to our 34th, my Heart's Delight, Light of My Life!

A Poem by Kippy

These Days I


open each day carefully
spread its pages apart gently
savor its length lovingly


as though each moment
were my last

Above and Beyond

Thea walked into the dining room to find its round wooden table littered with Teddy Bears, stationery, envelopes, and an array of colored pens. Benjamin sat in the middle of the table, surrounded by Brighton, Mack, Kippy, Mr. Fluffy, Letta, Sassafras, Shoshonna, and Mickey. They busied themselves intently scribbling notes, addressing envelopes, and checking off lists. Gracie, our winged Teddy Bear, hovered above them, lending her gentle support.

“I’m glad to see all of you being so industrious,” Thea commented. “What is so important that all of you have to work so hard on it?”

“We’re writing invitations to our annual Thanksgiving Dinner for everyone at the Valiant Teddy Retirement Sanctuary and Home,” Shoshonna explained.

“Oh,” said Thea. “I didn’t realize that Teddies ever retired.”

“Well, not voluntarily,” Mr. Fluffy told her.

“You mean they’re forced to retire?” Thea asked in amazement.

“Yes, sadly,” Sassafras said. “Though not without protest from their young wards.”

“What do you mean?” Thea asked.

“Often it’s the child’s parents who decide the Teddy is no longer welcome in the family,” Sassafras explained. “Sometimes children love their Teddies so much, they end up wearing the Teddies down. Large patches of fur get rubbed away, ears get chewed off, eyes pop out and even fall off. Sometimes an arm or a leg gets torn off. Oh, it can be horrible. Essentially they almost get loved to death.” The other Teds sniffled a little at Sassafras’s explanation. Brighton, Mickey, and Shoshonna each wiped a tear or two from their eyes.

“Not all Teds are lucky enough to live in a comfy and cozy place like we do,” Sassafras noted. “Eventually, the parents become concerned that the poor Ted might become a hazard for their child. Or maybe they just decide to replace the worn-out Ted with a brand-new one. Either way, the old Ted gets thrown away in the end.”

“That’s so sad,” Thea said quietly.

“Yes, isn’t it?” Sassafras asked. “But not every Ted who gets retired ends up in such sad shape. The luckier ones simply get retired by parents who decide their child is too old to be friends with Teddy Bears any longer.”

“Well, that’s not fair!” Thea couldn’t help saying.

“Of course not,” said Kippy. “But when has that stopped grown-ups from doing whatever they want?”

“Oh, I’m sure they believe they’re only doing what’s best for their children,” said Mr. Fluffy, patting Kippy on his left paw. “They just don’t know any better.”

“That’s why Benjamin has begun a campaign to educate human beans and Teds alike about the tragic origins and consequences of Ted abuse,” Brighton said, beaming proudly at Benjamin. All of the other Teds gave him a look of respect and admiration, too.

“Well, that’s very thoughtful and admirable of you, Benjamin dear,” Thea told him, reaching over and taking him in her arms and giving him a kiss and a great big hug.

“Thanks, Mommola,” he murmured bashfully. “It’s nothing, really. Anybody would do the same thing if they had the chance.”

“That may be,” Thea told him, giving him another kiss and hug, “but you are the one who’s doing it, and I’m very proud of you.”

“I’m not the only one working on the campaign,” Benjamin protested. “Everybody here is working on it, too. So are Biwi and Birnie and everyone else. Even Itsy and the little ones are doing their part.”

Looking up at the rest of the Teds, Thea added, “I’m proud of all of you. You are doing a very loving thing.”

Everyone looked bashful now. Mack began putting gold stars for all of them in his good behavior/bad behavior record book.

Thea set Benjamin back down in the place of honor in the middle of the table. As she did so, she happened to notice the camcorder on the table.

“What do you use that for?” she asked, pointing at the camcorder.

“That’s for the Lasting Memories project that Kippy started,” Brighton explained. “He and Letta use it when they ask residents at the Sanctuary to share their stories with other Teds and human beans.”

“So you’re recording their life stories?” Thea asked.

“Or whatever they want to tell us about themselves,” Letta said. “Sometimes they just tell a story about something that happened to them or someone they knew, things like that.”

“It must be very interesting to hear all of the stories they have to tell,” Thea said.

“Oh, it is,” said Kippy, “but some of their stories can be very sad, too.”

“Lots of them are sweet memories, though,” Letta was quick to add.

“And they can be very inspirational,” observed Mr. Fluffy.

“Might I hear a story or two?” Thea asked.

Letta, Kippy, Mr. Fluffy, and Sassafras looked at each other. Gracie floated a little lower to the table, then fluttered her wings and rose up closer to the ceiling. “If you want to,” Letta finally answered, softly. “But the ones we have available right now are kind of sad.”

“They’re very sad,” Sassafras interjected with concern.

“Are you sure you want to hear them right now?” Mr. Fluffy asked.

“Oh, my,” said Thea. “Well, of course I want to hear them. Especially if they’re very sad. I want to know about everything Teddies have to live through, even if it doesn’t make me feel very comfortable. There might be something I can do to help if I know more about the kinds of difficulties Teddies find themselves in at times.”

“That’s what Benjamin always says,” Brighton said, again giving Benjamin a proud look.

“Would you like to sit down while you listen to the story?” Mr. Fluffy asked Thea.

“Yes, perhaps I should,” Thea said, as she pulled out a chair and sat down at the table.

Kippy picked up the camcorder and pushed a couple of buttons. “This is Heddy’s story,” he told Thea. “She’s actually relatively young compared to the rest of the residents at the Sanctuary. But she…well, I should let her tell her own story.” So saying, he pushed the play button, and Heddy’s sweet little face appeared on the screen of the camcorder.

The fur of her small, honey-bear body must have been quite fluffy and soft at one time. Now it looked rumpled and compressed, but it still seemed to be all there, at least. Both sparkly little eyes were still in place, too, and she had both ears, although her left ear looked to be permanently folded forward against her forehead. Initially looking down and chewing her lips, she sighed, looked up at the camera and smiled tentatively, then in a small, soft voice began to tell her story.

“Jimmy was my second ward, really. Abby was my first. Her father brought me home from a business trip as a surprise for her when she was a little over one year old. I didn’t get to stay with her all that long, though. The family moved before she turned two, and I got left behind in the shuffle. Somebody rescued me and gave me to Goodwill, where Jimmy found me when his mama and he were shopping there.”

There was a moment of silence as Heddy seemed to look off in the distance behind the camera before she blinked a little and then took up her story again. “It was love at first sight for both of us, I think. He was five years old and a very lonely little boy. I found out later that he was usually a very quiet and unassuming little boy. It must have surprised his mother when he grabbed me up and begged her to let him take me home with him. She kept telling him she didn’t have the money to waste on a stuffed toy for him, but he wouldn’t give up.

“Eventually she gave in and let him carry me around the store while she finished her shopping. But once they got to the cashier, she tried to get him to give me up, and they ended up in a pulling match, with me in the middle. Luckily enough for me, the cashier lady took pity on little Jimmy and told his mother not to worry about it, he could keep me if he wanted, no charge. At first his mother didn’t want to do it. She said she didn’t take charity from nobody. But the cashier lady said it wasn’t charity; it was a gift to her little boy, and not to worry about it, the store wouldn’t miss what little money they wanted for me anyway. So Jimmy’s mother finally let him keep me. Oh, he hugged me so close when she told him he could have me!

“As we went out the door, I saw the cashier lady take some money out of her purse and put it in the cash register. I guess she was paying for me herself. That’s how I know some human beans can be angels.”

There was a long pause again. Once again Heddy stared off into the distance, hardly moving, except for the barest flicker of her right ear now and then. At about the time Thea began to think Heddy’s story had come to an end, she began telling it again.

“I’m glad the lady cashier was such an angel because I didn’t get to see any angels again for a really long time. Except for Jimmy, of course. He was my little angel.

“Jimmy and I were best friends right from the start. He had just turned five. He lived alone with his mother and his baby sister. And his mother’s boyfriend, if you could count him. He wasn’t around a lot of the time. Which was good because he was a mean man. Especially when he and Jimmy’s mother had been drinking a lot or taking drugs. Which they did way too much. Nobody ever paid much attention to Jimmy except for me.

“So Jimmy and I spent a lot of time together. He would talk about how he wished his real father would come back and take him and his mother and little sister away from all of it, so they could live happily ever after. I would tell him stories and tell him I loved him. And we would hug and cuddle a lot. A real lot. I think I was the only one who ever hugged him.

“It’s not that the grown-ups treated him really badly, other than not paying all that much attention to him. Just as well they didn’t because it was when they paid attention that he got in trouble with them. Usually they would yell at him. They hardly ever hit him. They hit each other more.”

Heddy became quiet again. This time, however, her snout twitched, and she grimaced at some memory. She looked close to tears for a moment, then composed herself, looked down at her lap, and slowly continued. “It was when Jimmy’s mother’s boyfriend started hitting his mother that Jimmy got the most upset. He would want to make her boyfriend stop, but he knew from past experience that he couldn’t. Every time he’d tried before, her boyfriend had hit him or thrown him across the room and then started hitting his mother even harder.  

“So all he could do was huddle in a corner, hide his head, and hug me as tight as he could. He would hold me so tight I could hear his heart beat with awful anger, fear, and despair. He rarely cried. I’m not sure he could anymore. But he hugged me tight against him and whispered, ‘Make him stop. Make him stop. Make him stop.’

“Finally someone called the police, who came and took his mother and her boyfriend away. Social services came and took Jimmy and me away, too. In the end he was sent to a foster family who decided he needed to make as clean a break with his past as he could. That meant getting rid of me, too, much as it broke Jimmy’s heart, and mine, too.

“I ended up in a garbage dumpster in an alley. I had about given up hope when I heard someone say, ‘Hey, little Teddie! Can you grab hold of my paw?’ When I looked up, there was a panda bear reaching down to me from above. Later he introduced himself as Biwi. He and Birnie and Itsy were out on their regular rounds of dumpsters, looking for retired Teddies, when they found me. They called James on Birnie’s Tphone, and he came and got us in the Teddy Bear College limousine. They invited me to come and live at the Sanctuary, and I’ve been here ever since.”

The room was very quiet except for the little click of Kippy turning off the camcorder. Everyone was dabbing at their eyes and clearing their throats. Thea got up and retrieved a box of tissues for everyone.

Sitting back down again, she said, “Well, that certainly was a very sad story.” Everyone nodded their heads, but no one spoke. They did not yet trust their voices. “So how is Heddy doing these days?” Thea asked.

“She’s doing really well,” Letta said. “She loves it at the Sanctuary. She says she has found a whole new family there.”

“She still misses Jimmy, though,” Brighton said quietly.

“And I’m afraid she still has bad dreams about those times,” said Mr. Fluffy. “She has a hard time hugging people, too.”

“Things will get better for her with time,” said Shoshonna. “Won’t they?”

“Things are better for her already,” Sassafras reassured Shoshonna. “She will have all the time and support she needs to make peace with the bad times she went through before she arrived at the Sanctuary. It may not always be easy for her, but she has the opportunity to make new and more positive memories for herself with the loving support of all of her new friends and family.”

Sassafras sighed. “Retired Teddies like Heddy are the hardest for us to help. Even those who come to us with a missing eye or torn leg can be fixed up almost as good as new by our Teddy doctors and nurses. They can still benefit from all the love and care we can provide them with, of course. Those that come to us with inner scars often take the longest to heal. But they do heal, with time and plenty of love.”

Thea looked slowly around the table, gazing deeply into each Ted’s eyes. “I am so proud of all of you,” she told them again. “I know that every Ted appreciates the value of looking out for the welfare of others. That's what you are all made for, after all.

“But what you’re doing with the Sanctuary goes above and beyond that. The help you give other Teds comes straight from the heart.”

“Every Ted at the Sanctuary has given above and beyond The Teddy Code!” Benjamin exclaimed. “They are an inspiration for us all. They deserve our love and care.”

“And they aren’t done giving even now!” added Mickey.

“Indeed,” agreed Mr. Fluffy. “They still go out on missions of mercy, visiting Old People’s Homes, hospitals, group homes…wherever there’s somebody who needs a hug and a snuggle. They are truly examples to us all.”

“They wouldn’t be able to continue their good work, though,” Thea observed, “if you didn’t provide them with the love and support they need.”

“Hey, Mommola’s right!” rumbled Mack in his deep, gravelly voice. “Every good deed we do when we rescue retired Teds and give them a place to live and make friends is doubled and tripled by all of the good deeds they do in turn!”

Mack’s excited outburst left everyone else speechless. He rarely spoke at all, let alone stringing together more than five or six words at a time. He must have just set a record for himself.

Just then Biwi’s Tphone, which was lying in the middle of the table, rang – or, rather, played a refrain from John Philip Sousa, and Brighton answered it. “Yes, but he’s very busy right now. What? On Thanksgiving? I don’t know. Let me ask him.”

Putting the phone on mute, she turned to Benjamin and said, “It’s the office of the Secretary General of the U.N. on the phone. They want you to give a keynote speech on Ted abuse on Thanksgiving.”

Everyone was stunned, not least of all Benjamin himself. Eventually, though, he shook himself and said, “Uh, tell them I thank them for the honor, and that I really would like the opportunity to bring these important issues before the international community. But I’m afraid I can’t make it on Thanksgiving day.”

Everyone gasped at that. Benjamin turning down the opportunity to be the center of so much attention?

But Brighton smiled at him and blew him a silent kiss. He smiled back, puckered his lips at her, and said, “Just tell them I have a previous engagement that’s very important to me. I wouldn’t dream of not attending. Perhaps another time.”

Brighton passed on Benjamin’s message, while Thea picked him back up again, kissed him, and hugged him tight. Everyone else beamed at him with a new degree of respect.

Putting the phone back on mute, Brighton turned to Benjamin and said, “They understand completely and respectfully ask if you could give the keynote address the evening of Winter Solstice, December 21.”

“Umm, yes, I think I’m free that evening,” Benjamin replied. “Tell them I’d love to do it, if I can bring a contingent of Teds from the Sanctuary along with me.”

After passing that message along, Brighton smiled suddenly, then told Benjamin, “They think that would be an excellent idea. In fact, they wonder if any of the retired Teds would like to tell their stories after you speak.”

Benjamin looked to Kippy, Letta, Sassafras, and Mr. Fluffy. Kippy said, “Oh, I’m sure we can find several of them more than willing to share their memories with the world.”

So that was agreed, and Benjamin, Teddy Bear College, and the Valiant Teddy Retirement Sanctuary and Home were given a venue to get the word out to the world about Ted abuse.

As Brighton said goodbye and got off the phone, Itsy’s voice rang out clear as a bell from outside, “Benjamin!”

“Oh, no, now what?” Benjamin grumbled under his breath.

The back door opened and Itsy, Lilly-pop, Sparkie, and Waldo came tumbling in. “We finded him, Benjamin!” Itsy called out.

“Yeah, we finded him!” the other three shouted in chorus.

Looking sheepishly up at his mommola, Benjamin walked over to the edge of table, looked down at Itsy and the other little ones on the floor, and asked, “Who did you find?”

“Him!” Itsy responded.

“OoOh!” Benjamin harrumphed. “Him who? What are you talking about?”

“Henry,” she said. “We finded Henry, like you said.”

“Henry? I don’t know any Henry,” Benjamin said, genuinely puzzled. Looking at the rest of the Teds on the table, he asked, “Do any of you know a Henry or what she’s talking about?”

Everyone shook their heads no. Then Shoshonna suggested, “Maybe he’s a turkey.”

“Oh,” Benjamin said quietly, then looked up sheepishly at Thea again.

“What’s a turkey got to do with anything?” Thea asked him, suspiciously.

“Oh, well, uh,” he hemmed and hawed. “Um, remember how I told you even Itsy and the little ones were helping us get ready for the Thanksgiving Dinner at the Sanctuary?”

“Yes, I remember,” she answered.

“Uh, well,” Benjamin responded quietly, “I kinda asked them to go find us a turkey for the dinner.”

“What? A turkey?”

“Well, that’s what you have for Thanksgiving dinner!” he defended himself. “So, uh, when Itsy and the little ones asked what they could do to help, I just sorta told them they could help by finding us a turkey for our dinner.”

“And exactly where did you expect they were going to find this turkey?” Thea asked.

“Oh, well,” he gulped and blushed, “I didn’t really think they would find a turkey. I just thought, um, that was something that would keep them…occupied while we worked on the invitations. And they would feel like they were helping out.” Looking up at his mommola, he quickly added, “I was going to tell her not to worry about it if she didn’t find one by the time we finished!”

“Yes, I’m sure you were,” Thea responded.

“Benjamin!” Itsy called up at him again.

“What!?” Benjamin snapped back.

“Do you want to meet him?” Itsy asked.

“Who?” Benjamin asked back.

“Henry!” Itsy replied.

“He’s here?” Benjamin asked weakly.

From outside the door they could hear a “gobble gobble gobble.”

“Oh, no,” groaned Benjamin.

But by this time Itsy had opened the door again. Standing right outside it was the biggest and most bedraggled wild turkey anyone had ever seen. “Gobble gobble,” he greeted them.

“Um, pleased to meet you, I’m sure,” replied Benjamin. Then, in a whispered aside to Brighton he complained, “We can’t cook him! He looks old! He’d probably taste really gamey!”

“Benjamin Bear,” Thea admonished him firmly, “don’t you dare even consider cooking Henry!”

“But what are we going to do with him?” Benjamin wanted to know. “Itsy’s already invited him to the dinner!”

“Surely, one plate more isn’t going to make a difference,” Thea observed.

“Mommola!” objected Benjamin.

“Tell him we’re looking forward to seeing him there,” she instructed him.

“Oh, all right,” he grumbled.

“I guess we’re having ham for dinner this year,” Brighton told everyone.

“But I like turkey!” complained Benjamin.

“It’s not what you eat for dinner that matters,” Thea told him gently. “It’s the company you keep that makes the day.”

“Yes,” Mr. Fluffy agreed quietly, “it’s a day we give thanks for the fullness of our hearts not our bellies.”

Looking somewhat abashed, Benjamin turned back to the door, squared his shoulders, and said, “We’re looking forward to sharing Thanksgiving Day dinner with you, Henry. We’re pleased you can make it.”

Brighton came over to stand beside Benjamin, put an arm around his waist, and leaned over to kiss him on the cheek.

“I for one don’t need a special day to give thanks for all I have,” said Thea quietly. Everyone at the table agreed wholeheartedly.

“Is dinner ready yet?” asked Itsy, and everyone laughed with full hearts.