Enter the entourage
According to the books, magazines and parenting articles, most 2 year olds have a lovey. If you're like me and never heard of this term pre-G, if you had a blankie, bear or some other comfort article you were attached to, you had a lovey. Frankly, I still sleep with mine.
Try as I might, the G-man doesn't have a lovey. We've encouraged him to find one in case he needs something like that in times of change or stress, but except for an unnatural affection for thumbs, he comes up empty.
But what he does have is an entourage.
I thought as he got older, the bag I had to carry would shrink. No more 8-pack of diapers, multiple bottles, smorgasbord of baby food jars and emergency foods. If we go to a restaurant and he doesn't eat, fine. I'm not sneaking in a full replacement meal anymore. Pants are dirty? What else is new? No more wardrobe changes that could rival Cher. One "oh crap, you're wet" pair of sweat pants tucked in the bottom of the bag is all we need. One sippy cup with water. A few wipes. Ta-da! Out the door.
Except now I need room for the entourage. Suddenly, it's not a diaper bag, it's a tour bus.
It seems we can't leave the house, or sometimes even the room, without a collection of things he couldn't possibly be without. This is different from the toys/items I pack in the bag for trips to my parents, a visit to a notoriously slow eatery, or waiting at the DMV. These are the additional things he scoops up as we head out the door, whisk him off to bed or simply sit down to dinner.
The members of the entourage change daily but we do have some consistent items in play. Allow me to introduce:
Red Train - This is an engine that came with his train set, along with Green Train, Blue Train, Coal Car and Train Parts (the other box/flat cars). I am rarely allowed to touch it when it's on the track. It frequently travels with its own entourage of two Train Parts.
Neigh/Big Neigh - No, not some mobster horse, just the finest specimen we could find one afternoon in the Target dollar bin. Large, brown and plastic, Big Neigh has recently dined out three times and "sampled" G-man's lunch at IHOP. I should rename him Sticky Neigh.
Book of the Week - G-man gets obsessed with a book often and this is required reading/viewing at all times on demand, whether in the car, at the doctor's or, as it was last week, the judge's courtroom for a friend's adoption hearing. Our current book always within reach is Freight Train.
Gordon Train/Gordon Train Coal Car - Ah, licensed characters at work. From the truly horrible show Thomas and Friends, this engine and its coal car work with G-man's train set and get a lot of play time. This is an engine I'm actually encouraged to play with. I like when Gordon comes along on trips because I can replace him a lot easier than Red, Green or Blue Train if he gets lost.
Race Car Socks - More marketing at work. The G-man received a pair of "Cars" socks in a party goody bag last year. They are too small for him to wear...on his feet. He likes to put them on his hands (a mild victory for me in the Mitten War) or simply carry them around.
School Bus - You guessed it, it's a school bus. A pretty nice one, I might add. Doors open and all that. School Bus is an interesting member of the group as it is the only thing G-man will share with other kids at the library.
Added to these main players are the fill-ins, special-use and wannabes. Concrete Truck is a favorite for the stroller and a must for the bath; a piece of the train track from his table joined us on the walk last week; a small fit was thrown this morning when Tractor (one of many) was not allowed to leave the car to attend class; he went to Parent's Day Out for a month with Lawn Mower Card (greeting card: "Happy Birthday - and many mower." I don't write this stuff.); we dined one evening with two plastic strawberries as guests at the table.
Perhaps one day he'll settle on one (hopefully small, portable and washable) lovey, but for now, he's content to simply take it all with him.
