Today is Have a Party with Your Bear Day, which I would have every Thursday if I didn’t put the garbage out at the crack of dawn instead of the night before. Otherwise, I am tragically bear free.

I’m pretty sure Mollie still has her authentic original-design Pooh (not the toxic gold Disney version) from England my mother bought her when she was born–I know she took it to college with her even though it had lost an eye by then–but I have no memory of having a teddy bear myself, which I think explains all of my mental issues and why I keep buying stuffed animals now–dragons, bunnies, Eeyores–and why my fave is still the stuffed armadillo that Lisa Kelypas gave me. Bear Yearning. Except on garbage mornings. Then they can take a hike.

Do you still have your childhood bear/whatever? She asked wistfully.