The Frog Prince

He may not look like a prince to you, but let me assure you that the worn-looking, fuzzy, almost-green thing in the picture is most definitely a frog and most definitely a prince.

Froggie has obviously been around for quite some time. In fact, he is almost as old as I am. All things considered, I think Froggie looks pretty good. He is missing his crown, though. It was a piece of yellow felt cut in a spiked pattern attached to the top of his head. I thought it made him look scary.

I was a thumb-sucker as a child. Rather than a blanket or a pillow, I would get attached to one stuffed animal at a time. I remember the dog named "Old Thing" only because my mother has told me about him. The next lucky friend was a brown and white dog named BeBe. Hey, I was two years old, okay? Froggie came into my life at nearly the same time as BeBe. I think it was to Froggie's advantage. BeBe was the chosen one, so she suffered the same cruel fate as Old Thing. I'm sure you've seen much-loved stuffed animals. Their fur is rubbed off, they're floppy, dirty, and in the case of a thumb-sucker, there is usually one spot that is loved more than the others.

After BeBe came a red and white pillow-cat who didn't have fur. Well, she was a pillow! Her name was Kitty. Her ears were the most-loved spot on her, and I suppose the reason she lasted the longest was because she didn't have fur. I was eight or maybe a little older before Kitty bit the dust. Strangely enough, I don't recall who followed Kitty's reign. I wonder if there was an heir to the thumb-sucker hall of fame after Kitty.

Through it all, Froggie remained loyal and true. He is smaller than I remember, but a hazy sort of fondness ovetakes me every time I see him. This past weekend I stumbled across him as I was up in the attic cleaning out some things. The interesting thing is that Froggie showed up at a time when I needed some comfort.

Like that two year old so long ago, I carried Froggie around with me. He was with me when I took a short nap. I even carried him down the hall and to my bedroom when I went to bed. Now, he is sitting on my chair and I have come to a decision: Froggie is old and serves no real purpose, but I cannot discard him like I have other things. He serves as a reminder of simpler days, and I think all of us could benefit from this sort of token.

Unlike Kitty and BeBe who live on in my memories, Froggie stands apart by living in my adult world. I believe I need him more now than I did when I was a toddler.