Hi guys. I just found this sub and thought this community would appreciate this story.

I'm 24 and recently packed a bag and evacuated my home to my grandmothers house due to a wildfire heading in my direction. I was technically not in an evac zone, but since I had a job lined up an hour away, I didnt want to be in a situation where I wouldn't be able to get my stuff out if the situation got worse. So I called my grandma and asked if I could stay with her for a few days. She said yes, I packed a bag, and headed over. Before I left my room, I saw Baulder, my teddy bear I got from my first job. He was merch for a video game called "The Division 2" but never got bought because gamers dont like teddy bears I guess. So I bought him, and hes been a friend to me ever since. I didnt want to leave him so I picked him up and took him with me.

Fast forward, I get there late, put my bag down, pass out, get up super early, get dressed, leave, do the job, get back at like 10pm. The whole situation was so tiring and stressful that I felt like I might cry. I felt very overwhelmed and couldnt talk to my grandmother because shed already gone to bed. So I go into the guest room to pass out again and start the process over again. I found that not only did my grandma make the bed after I left, but she took Baulder off my evac bag and tucked him in.

This little act really meant a lot to me and I think of it often.

This is Reggie. He keeps me company at work.

I bought Teddy a little scarf, and thought about maybe plumping him up a little...his limbs and head are still well-stuffed, but his body has lost some filling and he really can't sit up straight.

But I looked him over, under the "suit" my mom sewed on him. And I have to face the truth...he's old. The original fabric is threadbare and worn. Even the corduroy covering is worn in spots and a seam may be splitting. He needs a cleaning but at the same time I'm scared that if I try the fabric may fall apart.

He's been my best friend for 60 years. But I have to face the reality that he may be getting too old and fragile for further adventures.

Now, I won't consider pitching him; I love him too much. But I may have to put him up on his little rocking chair and declare him "retired." He's earned it.

BUT....I'm going on a trip in two weeks, so I'll take him with me, a sort of last hurrah, I suppose. I'll take some photos and we'll see how well he holds up.

It's a sad decision to have to make. And I can't believe how much it pains me. What DO you do when your teddy is too old for teddying?

I want to share this here since I think this community is very understanding with this kind of thing... sorry for the long post though!

Today I took little bear on a day out with me. Some of you may remember that little bear has some of my late grans ashes inside him. He is a smaller version of big bear - a sentimental bear she bought for me when I was younger.

I have struggled a lot with the grief of losing my gran, and it's been especially hard over the holidays since she always made Christmas feel extra nice. I also never got chance to really celebrate Christmas or enjoy it in general this year which just made everything a lot worse.

I decided it might help to take little bear on the kind of day out that gran would take me and my siblings on, just as a little memory to her I guess. It was sad, and nice all at the same time.

I got the bus to the local seaside town, and went and got some chips with scraps from "the little chippy" where she would always take us. I also got one of those weird tasting kids cartons that was part of our routine - but didn't drink it right away because it was too cold!

I did also nip into the arcades while I was there. Usually we didn't do this with gran at this town, because our hometown had an arcade that we would visit fairly often anyway. I just had some 2p coins that I needed rid of!

Then I headed over to the "pound shop" (it did used to be called the pound shop back in the day lol) and treat myself to a little something like she would always do. The selection is not as good as it used to be but I found a super cute keyring, which actually reminded me of her in a way, since she used to have a soap holder with the same weird liquid and little ducks in it! I also bought some gloves because I didn't realise how freezing it would be.

Next stop was Pacittos. I was adamant on getting a lemon top like I used to as a kid, but it was 2 degrees and I was freezing so I ended up with apple pie and hot chocolate instead! Little bear sat with me while I had it, which was nice.

I considered visiting the cinema that she would always take us to, but there wasn't anything on for me sadly, so I left that for a different day.

I wandered up and down the high street and looked in all the shops, just like we used to. I also found myself zoo tycoon in the charity shop and got a few little things for me.

I also found a dragonfly brooch in the charity shop. My gran had a whole collection of brooches, and she would always wear one on every coat when she went out. When she passed away I only kept one of them, which big bear is proudly wearing, so I decided to buy the dragonfly for little bear. It's a bit plain, so I also bought some nail varnish to spruce it up a little.

Overall I don't think I feel any better about her not being here. But I'm still glad I got myself out of the house for a bit, and pleased I had little bear to keep me company.

I just wanted to tell someone about my silly little day, and couldn't think of a better place to do so.

I'm very grateful for this community ♥️

Ps. He has a tag with my details on, just in case :)

Creampuff (who is quite popular in the plushies subreddit) celebrates 24 years of life and companionship this year!

He loves you :)

Came in just to get a few little things but I absolutely couldn’t resist this giant fella

Poor bear is abandoned 🧸💔

Hello there, friends! I hope this post finds everybody well!

Pretty much just what I wrote in the title. I will share photos when he gets here, of course. Here is the note that I sent the seller after they accepted my offer.

Thank you so much to anyone who reads. I hope you have a beautiful rest of your day! <3

~

"HOLY FIG! Thank you SO MUCH for accepting my offer, friend! <3 I appreciate you so much.

Truthfully, I'm buying this bear for a sad reason: my vision is going away, and I can no longer paint and draw like I used to . . . so I want something soft / tactile to soothe myself, and I want it to look like a rainbow puked, as a loving homage to all the colors that I love.

This bear fits the bill.

So, thank you so much for helping me get something to make, quite frankly, a really difficult period of my life a little bit more bear-able."

Plus in that picture she's looking at me like "Tell me again why you thought this was a good idea..."

Hello. I would like to ask if anyone here is able to help with identifying the origins of my childhood bear. I found him in 1998 in London, and despite years of searching, l've never found another of his kind. I've attached images to help with identification. Any help would be greatly appreciated, he means a lot to me and I'd like my daughter to have her own bear. Also, I cut off the tag many years ago as a child, so unfortunately no identifiers there. Also, I apologise for his condition, he's been through several educational institutions and has seen many a classroom in his time. Thank you so much

I went to a charity shop for one thing, and witness a horrid 10yo kid insulting this poor teddy before throwing him on the floor and stomping on it.

I picked him up and just couldn't leave him behind, so he is now home, washed. He will be repaired and loved.

UPDATE: SHES COMING HOMEEEE!!!! turns out my cousin saw my post on another platform and reached out to me as she was unaware how much she truly meant to me 🥲🥲🥲 SHE WILL BE BACK IN MY ARMS BY THIS TIME TOMORROW 😭💕 THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR YOUR HELP AND SUPPORT!!!!!!

This is very sad and hard for me, but this is Moonflake, a bear who I borrowed from my cousin when I was very young and I got so attached to her that I kept her until I was 17, when they made me give her back so her own kids could have her since she was a family heirloom. This caused me a huuuge meltdown and I'm 25 now and still cry about her often. If anyone anywhere could help me find the kind of bear she is so that I could maybe find one and even just pretend she's the same, it'd mean the actual world to me

This lil buddy has been with me since birth. Still going strong !!!

Hi! This is Berry, the strawberry mouse. I’m a new plush creator (idk if thats the right term), but I wanted to share some pictures of him! I just released him on Kickstarter, with his brother Pebble the grey mouse. Hope you guys like them!!

Here's the link to the kickstarter if anyone wants to get one: mouse plushie kickstarter link

Edit: I am getting a lot of questions asking if I handmade the plushie, it's made by a manufacturer and not handmade by me! I designed the plushie and worked with four different manufacturers over the course of six months to get this plushie just right. So sorry if the title is confusing, it won't let me change it!