Blanket Security

When Harrison was born he quickly adopted a soft blanket with an airplane print as his security. It went with him everywhere.

He didn't sleep, eat, ride in the car, go to the grocery store, church, doctor, grandparents' houses, or the playground without clutching his "airplane". I quickly heeded the advice of more experienced mothers to buy multiple of these blankets so I could switch them out for a wash.

I was so afraid I was going to damage my child emotionally if he ever discovered the existence of the other "airplanes." I mean, for his development to continue on a normal track we couldn't risk the stress he surely would experience if he knew his one security was, in fact, several.

Matt and I went through great lengths, acrobatic displays, ninja skills, and heart stopping "close calls" to keep Harrison from discovering the truth lest his whole baby world be shaken. And then baby two came...

...who also chose a silky blue blanket for his security. We looked high and low but we could not find an identical second to switch out for cleaning or "just in case" moments. I panicked at the thought of Jefferson now facing horrible childhood trauma since his mother could only find a close match.

But he didn't bat and eye, never cared, nor seemed to notice when he had the solid or the pattern security "blue blanket". Both boys soon discovered the existence of multiple "securities" and neither succumbed to emotional damages.

By the time Jefferson was coming up on 2 years old, he knew when his preferred solid blue one was getting a wash and would wait it out patiently, then switch them himself when the dryer buzzed. I was in awe, or shock, or maybe just weaning off the "panic over everything with your first child and panic a little less with the second" syndrome.

So by the time baby 3 came along and he too chose a fuzzy blue blanket to call his own I was pre-stocked with several choices and ready for the secret switching and hiding them in laundry piles from my blanket sniffing hound dog baby.

But I only lasted a few months. With the other guys turning out well adjusted and not suffering from any stress disorders I realized maybe I was the one looking emotionally stressed going through great lengths to keep multiple security identities hidden.

Now Wilson has three fuzzy blue blankets. He keeps one with him at all times, but the other two are stacked in his dresser and he knows right where to find them. I've walked in to see him nestled inside all three at once with not one ounce of, "you've destroyed everything I was ever sure about" syndrome. Now I just laugh at the memories from the past five years of our heart pounding adventures to keep blanket identities secret and wonder what we currently do that we'll laugh at five years from now.