A Christmas Miracle

After Matilda was born, Lance and Gina were two of our first visitors at home. I selfishly slept through their visit - I was fiercely protective of my rest, knowing full well the insanity that comes from lack of sleep with a newborn.

They are dear, darling people, and never said a word about my rudeness. They just dropped off a huge homecooked meal and a taggie blanket for Matilda. Their friend, Katie, makes baby gifts by hand and I had admired her work when their daughter was born. They remembered and gave us a piece of our own.

It is a little blanket - 12 inches by 12 inches, with a bold animal pattern on the front and hot pink fleece on the back. Each side has strips of multi-colored ribbon for a baby to play with. I thought it was darling and put it with Matilda every chance I got. My persistence paid off when Matilda developed a major attachment to it. It was dubbed "Blanks" and I knew I'd need a backup. Gina came through again and was able to get an almost identical blanket from Katie. The animal print is the same but it is backed with bright blue fleece. Matilda instantly loved it and happily used them interchangeably. Now, one will do in a pinch, but Matilda really wants both of them with her all the time.

This morning the kids and I went to Target. Matilda left both her Blanks in the car and the kids and I did our shopping. While we were in the store some winter weather came through. There was whipping, brutal wind combined with snow and sleet. I fought my way back to my car, pushing Matilda in the cart and dragging Sam next to me, and stopped short when I saw a Blanks on the ground about five feet from my car.

I dashed to it, certain it was about to blow away, and found it partially frozen to the ground. "Ohhh...Blanks!" Matilda said. I clutched it in my hand, horrified by how close we had been to losing it. I walked to the car and was shocked to see the other Blanks stuck to my rear tire.

Obviously they had fallen out when we went into the store. How in the world were they not both lost? The wind was so strong I was having trouble steering my cart in the parking lot. They should both be gone - one of them, at least! - but both were rescued and tucked in with Matilda in her carseat. "Blanks wet," she said a bit disdainfully.

Seriously, if anyone out there is looking for baby gifts that are both beautiful and functional, you need to get in touch with Katie. They're not just blankies - they are magic!