On December 28, my cousins and I took our kids to see Disney on Ice down at the Wells Fargo center in Philadelphia. Before my cousin, D, came to pick us up, my daughter and I had it out about taking Blankie with us. I wanted her to leave it home, she was insisting on bringing it along. I caved, with the stipulation that it stayed in the car. She agreed. We left, picked up my other cousin, A, and her 2 boys, and then met my cousins' cousin and her adorable little girl for dinner, then went to the show.
There were 8 of us in the car, so we were all piling out. I didn't unload my daughter, and we were all in a rush, so I didn't notice that she had Blankie in her hands until intermission. I wasn't happy about her bringing it in, but what was I going to do at that point? I couldn't take it out to the car, I wouldn't be allowed back in. So, she held onto it for the remainder of the show. After it was over, we filed out into the crowded hallway, for the length of one doorway to the next, when the staff directed some of us back into the arena and told us that we could cut across since people were being idiots and just stopping in the middle of the hallway for no good reason (seriously, WHY do people do that?) We made it to where we came in and waited for everyone else to catch up. In the meantime, I bought the kids cotton candy to eat on the way home. We left, everyone piled in the car and off we went.
We got about 10 minutes from home, and my daughter started freaking out (which drives me insane) because she couldn't find blankie. We told her she had to wait to get to A's house, which only set her off more (and fueled my anger for her behavior.) We tore the car apart. Blankie was nowhere to be found. I made the call to my husband to call Wells Fargo to see if anyone had turned it in. They hadn't, but told us to call back at 9:00 the next morning. I called them when we got home (still hadn't been turned in,) and asked if the parking lot was still open and if I would be able to go search there. I found nothing.
I asked the cleaning crew if it were possible to be let in, they directed me to a door for the media and instructed me to press the button. They buzzed me in. I ran into a man who was leaving, explained the situation, and he took me to the control room, where the guy behind the desk started yelling at him for letting me in (he hadn't.) I politely told the guy that he hadn't let me in. I pushed the button and someone buzzed me in. I apologized to the guy who had brought me down and thanked him for his kindness. The guard did nothing. I was a bit annoyed at that, then he told me he wouldn't let me up to check the sections. I think he must have seen the desperation (and dried tears) on my face because he quickly relented and found someone to escort me up. We searched every section, but found nothing. I was devastated.
When I got back to the car, I called my husband and told him to break the news to our daughter and to put her to bed. She apparently got very upset and told him that she, and I quote, "Can't possibly exist without her blankie." Yeah, I choked up when he told me about that.
When I got home, I went up to see her, but she was sleeping. So, I got into my jammies and thought about all of the people who have lost their rings or something precious to them, and I thought, "Why not? What could it hurt?" So, I posted this:
"I know that this is the long shot to end all long shots, but I have to try. We were at the Disney on Ice tonight (in Philly) at the 7:00 show. My daughter thinks she dropped her blankie somewhere in the arena or around the arena. I called the Wells Fargo Center and drove back down and searched the parking lot and we looked in the areas where we were, but to no avail. I'm begging anyone to share this status to see if anyone at all has seen it. It's a white(ish) small blankie. It has Abigail Regina and her birthday (April 28, 2009) embroidered in pink on the front. On the back on the "e" of Regina is a stain from a fabric marker (also pink.) It's a fleece blanket with a satin-y back and edges. The edges are also starting to fray. Please, if you have seen it, or picked it up, she's beside herself because she lost it. If you can say a prayer to St. Anthony (who I've been praying to all night, but I think it's falling on deaf ears,) I would appreciate it. If anyone has seen it, or has it, please send me a private message."
I just checked how many times that one status was shared...986 times!! Almost ONE THOUSAND people shared that one little blurb about my little girl's blankie! When I had shown her the status, and the "share count," it was a little under 600 people. She was pretty amazed at that.
About 2 weeks went by, and I didn't hear anything. I knew it had been a long shot, but I put it out there. I took the interwebs and found 2 more blankies like the one she had (that was an amazing feat in itself since we have never seen another one like it.) I ordered them both. The first one came almost a week after she lost her's, so I dropped her off at her sleepover and went up the mall to have it embroidered. I was so excited to give it to her the next day.
After I picked her up, I took her down to the basement, sat her in the recliner and gave her the new blankie all wrapped up. Her reaction was NOT what I was hoping for. She unwrapped it, said, "Oh! A new blankie!" I told her it was blankie's twin, and she said, "Oh. Can I have some gummy bears?" I didn't know whether to laugh or pout.
On January 13 (my brother's birthday,) I opened up my messages and all of the sudden, there were 11 messages in my other folder. I went to check them, and they were mostly people who were wishing us luck on finding blankie. I hadn't seen them at all until that point. Then, I came across one from a woman who said that her fiance's friend had found it. I sent her a message back, asking if he still had it. The next message I opened, was the man himself! Along with a picture of blankie!!
"Tell your 5 yr old everything will be fine, saw your post & made a call send your ph # to (e-mail address here."
My jaw dropped. I cried. OK, I'm lying. I sobbed my eyes out. I called him, and got his voicemail (he also sent a phone number.) (I don't want to put his name on here in case he doesn't want the publicity. I know I don't really like being made a big deal of, so I wouldn't force that on someone else.) I also sent a message on Facebook and an e-mail. His cousin called me back that night. He told me that the show had gone on to Cleveland, but he'd call his cousin to see if he still had it. Today, I opened my e-mail, and there was a message from this Good Samaritan. His cousin did, indeed, have the blankie, and he is dropping it in the mail to us! Blankie is coming home to surprise his owner! We should have it in a few days.
I am completely blown away by all of this. The attention that this has gotten from people and the amount of shares that the one little status had. That was the only one I had posted. I figured that I would put it out there and see what happened. I'm forever grateful that the outcome was a good one. I will be checking my mailbox diligently, waiting for that little piece of fabric that means so much to my daughter, in order to surprise her yet again. Let's just hope that this reaction is a little more appropriate...and yes, I will be posting the video.
Ladies and gentlemen, I learned a couple of very important lessons with this story:
1. Never underestimate the power of social media.
2. There are still good people in the world.
3. I am stapling that damn thing to her hand. LOL, I'm just kidding. But, it is rarely ever leaving this house again.
I hope that my daughter learned a couple of lessons too. I hope that she learned to be a little more responsible. I'm not trying to place the blame squarely on a 5 year old. I just want her to learn to listen to what my husband and I tell her better. I also hope that she learns that there are still good people in the world and that the world isn't a terrible place. It may not be perfect, but, really, what is anymore? It's just nice to know that there are people in the world that still care. That, my friends, is the biggest miracle of all.
UPDATE (March 12, 2015:) Blankie is home! If you want to see the video, here's the blog post with the link... Blankie's Home!
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