Amanda Lamb: Blue Pig

Every time my daughter goes on a sleepover, I help her pack her bag and leave it in the front hall for the next day so we won't forget it. Inevitably, I come out the next morning and the bag is bulging, the zipper straining to keep some unknown object contained. I know immediately that it is Blue Pig.

On a recent trip, we had planned to leave early in the morning. Just before bed I noticed that my daughter had tied Blue Pig to her nightgown with a piece of yellow yarn. I asked her why.

"Because if you pick me up and put me in the car in the morning and I'm still half-asleep, I don't want you to forget Blue Pig. I know how you are," she said with an accusatory tone.

My oldest daughter never had an affinity for one particular doll or stuffed animal, so this has been my first experience with understanding the importance of the attachment. I asked her why Blue Pig was so important to her.

"When I have to do something I'm scared of, like go to the bathroom in the middle of the night when it looks like there are alligators on the floor, or go on a sleepover for the first time at someone's house, Blue Pig makes me feel like I can do it," she said.

It didn't take any more convincing me. I was sold. We could all use a Blue Pig.