Such love

Just look at this:

Lord God, as you know, I have a love/hate relationship with Scruffy Barney.

I moan and grumble and get angry and frustrated and even resorted to throwing him at the wall in a rage on one occasion where he was eventually located after an interminable, tense and bad-tempered search that involved turning over the house and making anxious phone calls and trips to lost property departments. It seems to happen with monotonous regularity. For something that Katy loves so much, she does seem to leave him behind an awful lot.

I got him back the other day from the latest in a long line of Lost Property boxes. He was nestled on top of a selection of single mittens and woolly hats and something that looked a bit like the bottom half of a smurf. So he had company while he waited for me to bring him home. I'm sure he wasn't concerned. He's used to it.

But look.

I moan and grumble and yet just look. Look at her little face. I see this and I know that I will go to the ends of the earth for my little girl.  I love her so much I think my heart might explode and I know that I will do everything in my power to find Scruffy for her when she loses him. Even if she keeps on doing it. 

She might annoy me by not taking care and she might frustrate me by not looking for him herself and instead just sitting there empty-handed and looking woebegone, but Barney is her Special Thing and she needs her Special Thing and I will do all I can to give her what she needs because I love her so, so much. As she grows older it might not be a soft toy that she needs but it'll be something else and I will do all in my power for her. 

Is that how you feel about me?

Really?