Turtle

Asher's “lovey” of choice has been a small, green, stuffed turtle ever since he was about a year old. Grandma and Grandpa brought it home as a gift when they spent two weeks in Hawaii in 2007, and while it wasn't an immediate hit, Asher grew to love it and eventually they became inseparable. For several years, he put himself to sleep by holding the turtle under his arm and twisting the fabric tag while he drifted off – when he was around 4, the tag actually disintegrated and fell off altogether, but by that point he was way more in love with the turtle than the tag-rubbing ritual, so it was never a very big deal.

I have always been very protective of turtle. He is allowed to go with us in the car, but never OUTSIDE of the car to places like Target or the mall or preschool, because I have always been terrified that we would lose him. When Asher's in school, turtle holds his place in the car seat until he returns; when he gets up in the mornings, it's turtle he drags out of bed with him. We do not have a replacement for turtle; there is no backup, is what I have always told him. And because Asher is a very reasonable child, he always complied. I don't know if he was complying with the rules because they were rules (as he is wont to do) or if he was complying because he understood that he didn't want to lose turtle, but whatever the reason, he always did it.

On our way home from Disney, somewhere between Orlando and home, 35,000 feet in the air, Asher removed his turtle from his backpack to hold in preparation for landing and... that was it. He was never seen again. In the chaos of leaving the plane, we didn't think to double check that he was present and accounted for, and by the time we got home, had dinner, and got the kids into their pajamas and their beds, there was little we could do. We told Asher we'd left turtle on the plane. He started coughing (his trademark nervous tic when he's anxious) and then sat down beside me and burst into tears. I wept with him. I don't know if there's a worse feeling than knowing you've let your kid down in a way that impacts him in such a painful way.

We called the airline and were told the plane had already been taken to a maintenance facility where it would be spruced up mechanically, then returned to the gate the next morning for cleaning. Our only hope was the cleaning crew, and we'd know if they found anything on the plane if we called back after 10am. We called my mother-in-law, who worked for United Airlines for many, many years, and she wasn't optimistic. Cleaning crews recognize the value of diamond rings and abandoned Kindles and laptops. Cleaning crews DON'T, apparently, often recognize the value of treasured stuffed animals, and they're sent immediately into a trash receptacle and likely head straight for the incinerator, a la Toy Story 3.

I turned to Twitter, and everyone was so encouraging and kind, telling me they would pray for Asher and for turtle and for a miracle, and how awful it would be if their kid lost a beloved toy. I felt buoyed and lifted up, and went to bed that night feeling optimistic. But at 10:03 the next morning, the phone rang, and Dave had already gotten word from the airline: Nothing was found on the plane.

In all honesty, I think this broke my heart more than it broke Asher's. Like I said before, he's a practical kind of kid, and he'd already made peace with the fact that turtle was lost – I don't think he understands that sometimes things can be recovered. But to me, that turtle represented Asher's entire childhood – it has been with us for forever, and it made me so sad that something attached to so many memories and photos was just... GONE. And after searching the entire Internet, it seemed there wasn't a new one to be found anywhere. They're simply just not sold anymore. Except... ON EBAY, you guys. I found ONE, on the ENTIRE INTERNET, and it was for sale on eBay, and we snapped it up and it arrived two days ago and Asher has resumed life as we knew it when we had OLD turtle. It sleeps with him, it perches on the sink when he goes to the bathroom in the morning, it sits beside him as he watches movies and plays video games. This story has a happy ending – that's something I never would have expected.

Two things that I have to mention, that can't go unnoticed. JetBlue was amazing. Their customer service responded to us immediately and thoroughly. I contacted them via Twitter and Dave contacted them via phone, and they were courteous and helpful. I even got a voicemail from a customer service representative about two days after we lost turtle – she'd called and left a message for ME, not for Dave, though I'd never called. (She must have tracked me down from my Twitter account.) The voicemail was long and detailed everything they'd tried to do to find turtle; she'd detailed exactly where the plane had gone and who had cleaned it and told us they'd found nothing – she even said she'd gone so far as to EMAIL OUR FLIGHT ATTENDANTS, to ask if they'd found or seen anything when they'd gotten on/off the plane. I thought that was a step beyond what they ever had to do, and I was so grateful that they took that extra step. Consider me pleased with JetBlue (and not just for this – they were extra attentive during both flights to the kids, going so far as to make a birthday balloon for Lucy with a latex glove).

Then last night, I went out to the mailbox and found a package with Asher's name on it and a return address I did not recognize. I opened it up and found a small stuffed turtle and a letter from a blog reader and someone who was following along with the turtle saga on Twitter (@NJRae). Rachel and her family had written to say that they were so sorry that Asher had lost turtle, and that every year at Christmas, they try to do something nice and unexpected for someone. This year, she and her husband and three kids had sympathized with Asher's plight and had decided to send him a turtle as well as adopt a real sea turtle (named Squirt!) in Asher's name  – then he could feel a little bit better knowing he was helping real life sea turtles.

I know that in the grand scheme of things like LIFE, that losing a stuffed animal is not a huge deal. But it felt huge to our family last week, and as a parent, it felt like a major, preventable failure. And to have someone do a small act of kindness like that for us was so wonderful and amazing, and I couldn't even read the letter out loud, I was too choked up with emotion. Someone we don't even know, would never recognize on the street, did something for our family that was kind and thoughtful and yes, completely unexpected, and WOW, what an awesome feeling to be on the receiving end of that. That letter is going into Asher's keepsake file, and I will remember it for the rest of my life. Thank you, @NJRae, and your entire, beautiful family.

The funniest thing is that I was telling Asher that they'd heard about how he lost his turtle, and he's all, “How do people know I lost my turtle?” Oh, son. What am I going to do when you grow up and realize I've opened your childhood up to the public? I am hopeful that if he ever doubts my choice to write about our family as I do, that the good things – the kind comments, the supportive emails, the phantom turtles showing up in the mailbox – will convince him that it was always a good thing.

Comments

[auntie]

Ok...BAWLING MY EYES OUT OVER HERE!! What a sweet child you have, and how wonderful that so many people came together in one way or another to try to help him (and you!). Merry Christmas!

[Jesabes]

Oh, wow. This made me cry. I did wish we knew of an identical turtle to send Asher, but it never would have occurred to me to do something else so thoughtful. What a wonderful family.

I hope you, Dave, Asher, Lucy, and turtle have a very Merry Christmas!

[Courtney]

Tears! Merry Christmas to your family (and @NJRae's!).

[Jen]

I WANT TO CRY THIS IS SO BEAUTIFUL.

Merry Christmas to all of you. xoxo

[Val]

Oh. My. God. Sobbing. SO SO relieved to hear this story has a happy ending. I too followed on Twitter and bawled as I read the saga. My children both have a lovey much like Turtle and OMG if either of them were ever lost...I...I just cannot imagine what we would do. Losing those loveys is my greatest fear whenever they leave the house. Which is not often.

Phew. So glad for Asher. Phew.

[Swistle]

Oh, man, I teared up about SIX TIMES.

[Linda]

Sniff. I HAVE SOMETHING IN MY EYE, OKAY? I'm so happy for happy endings.

[gorillabuns]

Yep, I'm bawling in how beautiful people can be to one another.

[Karyan001]

OMG I was reading that at work and I had to stop so I wouldnt be the stupid preg. girl crying at her desk! What an amazing story!!!

[Lisa]

This touches me so much. I love how people are so kind.
It also touches my because my Asher (who is 7) has a blanket that means as much to him as Turtle and I don't want to think about what would happen if he lost it.
I am so glad that your Asher has Turtle back, and that he got to witness first hand the kindness of strangers.

[Cora]

Ok, I am hugely pregnant and very emotional this holiday season, but this made me cry. And I'm trying to blink back the tears so I don't have to explain to my parents what a blog is and why it made me cry. :) My 2.5 year old has a stuffed bear (Cubby) that is also irreplaceable and I can't imagine losing him. So I can imagine how devastated you and Asher felt. But what a lovely, kind thing the internet did for you and I'm so happy that Asher has a replacement Turtle and a real turtle too. This story makes me so happy!

Merry Christmas!

[Liz]

Glad this story has a happy ending! You'd probably appreciate the "Knuffle Bunny" books by Mo Willems. I'm pretty sure it's the 3rd one where Knuffle Bunny gets left on a plane.

[Leighann]

Why am I crying?? Ha! Other than I just thought this morning how I need to find a new dog for Ry. He's chewed both ears off his and is slowly unravelling the seam and taking all the stuffing out. So as I vacuumed up fluff this morning off his carpet I thought about a replacement. So funny how we moms think. And how thoughtful of @NJRae to send Asher a turtle. I love the internet. :)

[HereWeGoAJen]

Turtle felt like a big deal to me too, from all the way over here. I am so glad it had a happy ending. The kindness of the internet is such a wonderful thing.

[Jessica]

What a sweet story, I am so glad there is a happy ending to it all! Sometimes, people on the Internet can be so awesome!!

[Sarah in Ottawa]

Sniff!

I'm such a sucker for happy endings, and am so happy to hear that one has come to you guys this Christmas season.

Merry Christmas to you, Dave, Asher, & Lucy (and Turtle, too)!

[Elsha]

This story is so sweet! I worry about this kind of situation with Will's bear. I hope if it ever happens we have the same kind of happy ending!

[Kristen]

That was the best Christmas story I've ever heard! So fantastic to know there are wonderful strangers in the world who are willing to help in any way they can.

[Jen]

Joining the chorus of tears tonight! Oh how I loved this. I am so happy that Asher has another turtle to love and that everything worked out in a positive way.

[Heather R]

We had a similar thing happen, except my daughter's lovey was a gerber burp cloth, white with small pink flowers. They apparently change the print every year so I had the cloths from 2006/2007 and no one else I knew and not even Ebay had them! (I guess who sells used burp cloths?) Anyway, I went to lostmylovey.com and posted my wanted ad and someone in Minnesota had the burp cloth I needed and mailed it to me!! Great idea for a site, but not very well known yet.

[Courtney]

Wow! Just WOW! Such a sweet, sweet story. It is also so very awesome to hear that such kind and good people still live around this world. Merry Christmas guys!

[Alex]

It is so wonderful to read about the kindness that exists in the world. Thanks for posting. My son has a treasured giraffe who is basically a part of our family now-I can only imagine the feeling when turtle went missing. So glad to hear things turned out so beautifully for you guys!

[Lynda M O]

Once again, proud of humans, as a race, for their ability to generate warmth and compassion for a stranger. Gladdens my heart.

[Lori]

This made me cry. It is so freaking refreshing to hear about someone being kind for the sake of being kind and expecting absolutely nothing in return. I love it.

[Bren]

I am so glad you were able to find a new turtle on eBay! As soon as Maggie fell in love with her hippo - I scoured the internet to find extras. I myself never had a lovey but Hippo is a part of our family so I could totally feel your pain when I read your tweets. And what a wonderful family to adopt a turtle! Merry Christmas!