Spinoza

So as an activity director for seniors, I receive tons of catalogs and magazines trying to get me to buy supplies. Today I decided to look through the huge pile that has been accumulating on my desk and see what was being offered. As I flipped through the pages of crafts and games, a certain bear caught my eye. I had to take a second look and there he was SPINOZA. This bear has very special meaning to me and I was surprised that it still was being sold. Let me tell you how this little guy helped me through a difficult time....

(Flashback..Fall of 1990...Almost 18 years ago)..my little self was in second grade at Viking Elementary. The school year started out good, I had a great teacher, Mrs. Storrsten who I absolutely adored, my best friends Emily Martin and Nikki Lein were in my class, and I was having a great year. Well that all changed when Mrs. Storrsten decided to go on maternity leave to have her son Tydan, who is now the star of Vikings Basketball team. I was devastated, and I made up in my mind that if she wasn't going to school anymore, that I didn't need to be there either. I tried many ways of staying home from school, or trying to go home from school, pretending to be sick was my best idea. So for weeks, I would always ask to go to the nurses office so I could go home, or I would cry and scream at my parents not to make me go. Well my Dad became frustrated with me and he would have to grab me from the top bunk and put me in the orange volvo and take me to work with him before school started. The problem began to escalate and eventually my dad brought me to Principal Schmidt's office to try to find a solution help his emotional 8 year old daughter, and that is when I first laid my eyes on Spinoza. He was sitting on top of the filing cabinet and Mr. Schmidt handed him to me and said I could take care of him for awhile he would make me feel better. I remember the little red heart on Spinoza and him singing songs to comfort me. I remember sitting with him on my bed and just pushing that red button over and over, and him singing "And my name is Spinooooza!" Oh boy did I love him. And believe it or not, that little bear really did help me and I eventually got over my big traumatic episodes. So when I saw him today in the magazine it almost brought a tear to my eye. It's amazing to think how one little bear can still bring up a lot of emotions for me, but this little guy truly helped me and when I looked at the picture today it brought a big smile to my face. You can purchase your own Spinoza by going to the website http://www.spinozabear.com/ I definitley will be purchasing one for my future children.