Three days after incredible heartbreak, I forced myself to get to FAO Schwarz in the rain. I wandered through the shelves upon shelves of teddy bears and other stuffed animals. And then one of Gund’s bears lept out at me. Its arms were too long, it was really fat, it had a tiny head and huge nose. Best of all, the one I picked up’s ears weren’t sewn on straight. They were lopsided. I fell in love.

He’s the dopiest bear of all time. I’ve named him Benedict Arnold. He may betray his country, his people, and his revolution, but baby, he’ll never betray me.

My teddy bear’s name is Mash. Why? because when I got it my sister was going through a badass teenage phase and called her new teddy bear Hash, and tried to pass it off as being short for hash browns rather than named after a drug. Out of spite I named mine Mash to say it was short for mashed potatoes, but the name stuck.

He is the greatest teddy bear in the universe, and I’ll be sad to leave him behind when I move to New York City next week. I don’t think they’d let me take him as hand luggage on an international flight, he’s way too big for that ;P

Not my first stuffed animal, I’m sure, but the one I’ve held onto the longest is certainly a teddy bear that I was given as a child. My was pink and had a belly button in the correct place for a person. The similar teddy bear that was given to my brother was brown and had a belly button too, but it was on the bear’s ear!

my first stuffed animal was, of course, a teddy bear! When I was four, I rode around with him in the little basket on my bike. It was around that time I named him Lovey Bear.

my dad had a bear when he was little too. for some reason, all of the fur on it is missing now. it looks ridiculous. apperently he used to just pull it off. I wish i had a picture of it.

i like them best with only fluff in their heads and half fluff in their bodies and plastic pellets in the rest… and some fluff. gives acomforting weight and still nice and soft. and no i’m not talking those beanie babies or whatever they’re called: i mean real, full size teddies.