R.I.P. Ga

Folks, Ga is gone. If you know Carly-or me-you know that Ga has been a part of our family for a very long time. He was a baby gift to Carly when she was just 6 weeks old. He was Gaga before Lady Gaga. Carly gave him a persona of his own as soon as she could talk and they were instant friends. He had a birthday (May 4th, just like Carly's Uncle Scott and cousin Jack); he had a sense of humor (often looking out the window of Carly's room to say "hi" to the students across the street or hiding himself in precarious spots just for a laugh); he was a crazy Notre Dame fan, able to "hum" the words of the fight song when Carly was just 2; he was trustworthy and he loved her unconditionally. Most important of all, he was her first best friend and playmate. And, boy, did they play. He traveled to Florida, Michigan, and Massachusetts every year, often her main companion on those long flights and roadtrips. He has been Carly's guardian during all of life's boo-boo's, her sounding board as she worked through a myriad of complex preschool social situations, and her most attentive and flattering of audiences as she did endless performances for him. He had a scratchy face, a torn elbow, and--as she mentioned to me yesterday through her choked-up 6 year-old tears--his sewn-on mouth could move up or down, so she could make him him happy or sad to match her own mood. He came up missing one day at the Rock a few weeks back. We spent a week and a half retracing her steps, but no luck. Her heart is broken, as is mine, for I know what it is like to lose a precious loved one. And I know what it is like to say goodbye to that special someone at the Rock. And I know what it's like to pull out of the driveway there thinking life will never be as good again. And I know that, as her mom, I cannot protect her from all the heartbreak and loss that awaits her in life. So as I read Velveteen Rabbit again this week, tears streamed down our faces because we both recognized that her love really did make him REAL. We are sure now that he grew cute green legs and is living among the other frogs and bunnies and deer at the Rock on the shores of Lake Michigan, a perfect spot where Carly will always be back.