Tale of a Lost Puppie and an Owl

My grandchildren love their cuddly toys.  They take them everywhere and that was the case when we went to the zoo one fine sunny day two weeks ago.  Maddie had her puppy named Puppie while Luca had his owl named Amen as we traversed the zoo grounds. Their cuddlies were with them as they excitedly viewed the beautiful tiger, the ferocious lion, the elegant Flamingos, the magnificent giraffe and the mighty elephants in their park like confines.

We then ate lunch after which we decided to stay in the large sand box in the so called Island part of the zoo.  They set their cuddly toys on the Adirondack chair beside mine while they enjoyed making structures with the sand which happened to be very dry to work with that day. It did not matter they loved every minute of it and we stayed there for about an hour.

At the end of our stay in the sand box, Maddie wanted to pose for pictures with Luca in the giant Adirondack chair with the word Island on it. She could not resist following the other zoo goers' example of posing for photos on that chair. We then visited the monkeys and gorillas in their covered abode and the different fishes in the aquarium.

We then stopped for a cool treat.  Who could resist the dippin dots? We couldn't so we had them. While we were sitting eating them, we heard thunder and lightning signaling to us it was time to go home before the rain comes.

We hurriedly walked back to the exit but the rain caught up with us and we settled for shelter on a bench at the tunnel close to the exit of the zoo. When the rain subsided we walked back to my car.  As Maddie was buckling herself she noticed that her Puppie was gone.  And so was the owl.  She was confident we left them on the bench at the tunnel.

I returned to the tunnel for their toys but they were not to be found on the bench. I went to see if they were on the shed where we ate the dippin dots but Puppie and Amen were not there either. Then I remember the sand box and how we set the two cuddlies on the Adirondack chair beside me.  I decided not to go back there since the Island was quite a distance. As I went back to my car, I requested a zoo personnel if they could look for the two cuddly toys at the sand box. When asked to describe them I said one was a puppy and the other was a bear.  For some reason, I always thought Amen, which was an owl, was a bear.

When I relayed the news to Maddie that I did not have Puppie, she bawled. I told her she has an exact one at home but she said it was not as soft as this lost one.  She said she would have a hard time sleeping. I assured her they would find Puppie and Amen.  I told her I requested the zoo personnel to tell the custodian in charge of the Island sand box to look for a puppy and a bear. What! Boy was she mad that I mistook Amen for a bear.

The traffic was pretty heavy going home so I decided while sitting on traffic to proceed to call the zoo to correct the description of Amen. I had blue tooth service so they could hear the voice of the receptionist who answered the phone.  That helped calm them down.

The next day I called at eleven in the morning and they said no toys have been turned in.  My heart sank but I was hopeful it was because the custodian at the sand box had not cleaned up yet.

In the meantime, I was preparing for Plan B if they were not found.  I started practicing a lecture in my head about life's realities which include losses while I was sitting in the hair salon having my hair permed. Then I got the call with the good news.  They found them, the lost cuddlies.

I decided to make the trip to the zoo that same afternoon to get this crisis over with.  I have not been any happier in my life and extremely relieved when I saw Puppie and Amen on the receptionist desk. There is indeed a God looking over grandparents in distress.

I went by my daughter's house to drop the lost and now found cuddlies. Since nobody was in I just propped the two, Puppie and Amen on their dining table.  My daughter texted later and asked if I was the one who placed the two on the table.  I texted back, grandma fairy did. She texted back a photo of Maddie grinning ear to ear with her beloved Puppie.

This past Sunday I was telling them how it took me two hours to go to the zoo and back to their house to return the cuddlies  The effort it took must have sank in Maddie's head and heart. Sometime later she said a heartfelt thank you for finding her Puppie.  That was enough for me. All is well that ends well. But what a crisis!