One yellow Care Bear. And a pink one, too.

I'm told by my mom that when I was little, I picked out a pink Care Bear as my reward when I was officially potty-trained. I don't remember going to the store and picking it out. But I do remember the Care Bear.

You know how when you grow up and move out of your parents' house for the first time, they send all kinds of treasures with you. For me, it was my collection of baby pictures, Christmas ornaments, some much-needed furniture, and for me, a collection of stuffed animals that I had acquired (and refused to let go of) over the years. So when I was twenty-something and got married and moved out of my parents' house, several stuffed animals joined the (then) newly-formed Hershey household.

At the time, I could have cared less about those stuffed animals. I even contemplated getting rid of them.  Donating them to Goodwill or something.

But for some reason I didn't.

I stashed them inside a large plastic bin in our laundry room.  For the most part, they were forgotten about...except for the occasional need for one for a lesson plan while working in a preschool.

But a week ago, I was in search of that pink Care Bear.

It had been forgotten about, neglected for YEARS.  But wouldn't you know, when I went to that stash of stuffed animals in our laundry room and began searching for my Care Bear, I found it.  And I'm thankful I did.

You see, several months ago, we very casually started the potty-training process for our daughter.  And just a few weeks ago, we became a completely diaper-free household.  It was such a good feeling.  I was so thrilled for her accomplishment that we traveled to Target, in search of a small reward for her.

We scanned the toy aisles, and I tried to entice her with a variety of dolls, puzzles, and so on.  Nothing seemed to jump out at her.  I was seriously losing hope that we'd find something that would seem rewarding to her as we rounded the turn to the very LAST aisle of girl toys.  As we're midway down the aisle, I noticed two Care Bears.  One yellow.  And one blue.  I casually pointed them out to her as a last option, and without hesitation, she responded, "Can I hold them?"  I agreed.  And handed them to her one at a time.  I could tell she liked them and asked her if this was what she wanted.  She requested the yellow Sunshine Bear.  We paid for it and returned home.

I remembered my Care Bear and decided to search for it.  At the very bottom of the plastic storage bin was my pink bear.  I had no idea that one day I would want this pink bear again.  But I'm so glad I have it.

It may seem corny.  But for me, it fills my heart with gratitude on so many levels.  (One) That my mom saved the bear for me.  And that she knew I might, one day, want it again.  (Two) That something inside of me made me keep that pink bear.  (Three) That Mya and I can share that bond of picking out similar rewards for reaching that milestone.  (Four) That they still even MAKE Care Bears.  (FIVE) That something as simple as a Care Bear...purchased back in the mid-'80s...could again be popular enough to be on the shelves of a store in 2013 and appealing enough that a toddler would pick it today.

Sometimes it's the simple things in life.  Or the most random things.  Like Care Bears.  But those things can create some pretty cool bonds between people.