The love of a blanket

Jack has a special blanket. But special is not the right word, not nearly significant enough to describe his devotion to and love for that blanket. I can tell you without a hint of sarcasm or jealousy his blanket is more comforting to him than I am.

If I had to guess as to why he is so unusually attached to blanket I would guess that it has to do with the very difficult transition he was forced to go through at nine months old. In that transition, he lost the only mother he had ever known, his language, familiar looking faces, food, smells, routine and was left feeling angry and alone and scared. When we traveled to Korea we took a blanket for him, in hopes that it would bring him some comfort, we gave it to him the first moment he was ours, wrapped it around him in the baby carrier and the rest is history. He was instantly attached to it, and now I often think that although he is not conscious of it, he loves that blanket because it is simply the only thing in his life that can take him back to his first home.

If you were to be a fly on the wall and watch our family operate you might be confused and think we have three children, Kylynn, Jack, and Blanket. Everyday several times a day and every time we are leaving the house to do anything, you will hear, do you have blanket? Because if Jack doesn't have his blanket and he decides he wants it, nothing and I mean nothing will console him, until blanket returns to it's rightful place.

The part that makes this more of an adventure is Jack gets sick (as in throws up) very easily. He does it from crying, when he eats or drinks something he doesn't like, sometimes for no apparent reason at all. So when he gets sick it's all over his blanket, which he carries on his hand, wrapped around a finger, with that finger in his mouth. Of course I then have to take it away and wash it, this is the worst hour of my week.

This weekend we went up to visit my parents and on the way up Jack got sick three times. I managed to let him keep his blanket until that last time when it was so dirty it was not possible to let him keep it. Of course I explained to him that Mommy needed to wash it and would give it back really soon, of course I begged him to trust me and be comforted that mommy was there with him, but it was no use, he was completely inconsolable. I called Kyle to decide if I should just turn around and come home, I still had almost 3 hours left to go. He told me to go to a gas station and wash it and give it back to him. So that's what I did, I washed it with soap and water in a gas station bathroom, all the while Jack screaming so loud I knew the whole place thought I was hurting him and gave him back a sopping wet blanket, I'm talking really, really wet. As soon as he had it he stopped crying, and as soon as we were back in the car he fell asleep, holding onto that blanket, that works even when it's wet, to soothe him and comfort him and remind him, I think, of a part of him that he wants so hard to remember and cannot.Jack taking a nap in our hotel room in Korea the morning after he became ours and of course next to him is his blanket.