Bon Voyage, Travis Snoopy!

First, let me tell y'all that sharing the intricacies of the Snoopys is a big deal for me, because I feel like this is something that an adult shouldn't do. 

One of my favorite Snoopys is leaving on a trip tomorrow and he won't be back until almost April. 

Now, don't get me wrong, I love all my Snoopys for their own unique qualities, but Travis is special. 

Travis Snoopy is special because he is the first Snoopy stuffed animal I owned as an adult. 

When I was a kid, Snoopy was it. The way my brain works, I don't remember it myself, but I remember the stories people told me about it. 

I had a stuffed Snoopy that I loved more than literally anything. My nana (one of my favorite humans that ever freaking lived) would come for a visit and ask me for a hug and a kiss. 

Y'all know me, though... I've never been a hugger. That's a lifetime trait. 

So I hugged and kissed Snoopy instead. As a grown up, I recognize this as my nana's little rebellion of acceptance towards me. 

I'd get pressure from other sources, "Go give your nana a hug! She just got here!!! You don't get to see her everyday."

From all reports, I'd just stand there and kiss and hug my Snoopy. 

And Nana was okay with it. I think she understood. Snoopy was like her affection surrogate or something. 

And then there is this photograph of a young Jacki spending time with a large Snoopy, so, yeah, this has been a lifelong love. 

So a few years ago (like 7 or 8, I think) my fella and I were in a Kohl's buying outfits for some event or another. We get to the checkout and I am unable to control my squeal as we were met with a giant display of stuffed Snoopys. 

He asked if I wanted one and (at that time) I almost always said no, because I guess I didn't feel like I deserved to want things for some dumb reason, but I didn't let my brain win that time and eagerly answered, "Yes!"

The Snoopy came home with us. For a while he just sat around like a display piece, his true purpose not yet realized. 

Then Mickey had a business trip and before he left, he put the Snoopy on his side of the bed as like a bedtime affection surrogate. 

After that trip, he became Bed Snoopy and spent a few years bopping around the bedroom. I felt embarrassed that I was a grown up cuddling with a stuffed animal every night. 

At some point, Bed Snoopy inherited a Joe Cool t-shirt and a black blazer, and was ready to get out of the bedroom. 

So we arranged for new arrival Bedtyme to take over the bedroom spot. He was about twice the size of Bed Snoopy so he made more sense for cuddles. 

Plus ... during those years that Bed Snoopy served his bedroom time, we had to reboop him a few times because he started talking bad about himself and sometimes even me, and we couldn't have that, so he got rebooped! 

That is the stuffie version of a reboot, where we forget whatever dark place they were just in and they start over afresh, happy and hopeful!

Bed Snoopy felt lost with no bed to hang in, so we decided to rebrand him as Travel Snoopy. 

Y'all he never looked back. He spent every day in my lil Fiat keeping me company on all my work adventures. Eventually he ended up with his own little gang of friends in the car, a tiny rainbow bear named Beaux & a hard gang Will Byers from the Upside Down. 

And eventually he morphed into Travis Snoopy. Now he's just Travis. And he Travises with Mickey on all his business trips now.

He's adjusted really well to the change and feels like a world traveller, which... I guess is what he is nowadays. 

Since first getting Travis my embarrassment over owning stuffies as an adult has somewhat lessened, but telling y'all about the wild and wonderful lives they live in my imagination still feels wrong somehow, so don't judge me too harshly. 

So Travis is leaving tomorrow and won't be back until April and I'm really gonna miss him. But I can't wait to hear about all his adventures. He's good at keeping me updated. 

If you ever come over, all the stuffies we've amassed over the years are in the living room now, all cuddled up in an artistic pile, ready to provide emotional support to whoever might need it. Sometimes an emotional support stuffie bonds with a visitor so well they go home with them! I love surprise adoptions like that. 

This blog just scratches the surface of this imaginary world that exists in my head. Everyone has their own story and personality and I'm happy to share it when folks ask. But I'll still be pretty embarrassed about it. So don't let me rush through it. 

They all deserve their time in the spotlight (and so do all of you... so don't rush through telling your stories!)