Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Remembering R2D2

Today while I was at work, our nanny took the boys to the park. When I got home, Flik was eager to tell me that they brought R2D2 there, but when it was time to go, they couldn't find him, so they "donated" him to the park for other children to play with. Our nanny added that they looked and looked, but couldn't find him. The donation idea was an attempt to avert a meltdown.

I have to admit, I was really sad to hear that R2D2 had been brought to the park and left behind. Flik is going to lose a lot of toys in the years ahead, but this one was one of the more special toys. This one had a story. So tonight, to honor the loss of R2D2, I will share his story with you.

Last August, when Flik was 3 1/2 and Mommy was 5 months pregnant with Z, we took Flik to Disney World for the first time. Our first day there, we went to Downtown Disney, home of the world's largest Disney Store. The goal was to buy some shirts for pregnant Mommy that were lightweight enough to wear around Disney World in Florida in August with 98% humidity. While Mommy shirt-shopped, Daddy and Flik explored the wonders of the Disney Store. One if the early finds was a display of noisemaking toys. There were several different Disney characters, each with a button that, when pressed, would cause the character to spin around and make a noise. Flik was trying out each of the characters. I just looked at each one and thought, "That doesn't even make any sense. Why would Woody spin around like that?" Then Flik picked up the R2D2 one and pushed the button. It was pretty funny. The noise he made when you pushed the button was the noise he makes in the movie when he gets fried. (Like the time on the Millenium Falcon when he fixes the hyper drive and then foes flying across the ship. OK, Mommy is a bit of a geek.) So R2D2 spinning around making this crazy sound is actually kind of funny. But we put the toy down and continue shopping. It's funny in the store, not in our house. Mommy shops. Daddy and Flik explore. Mommy buys some shirts and we are ready to leave. But Mommy is pregnant, so she needs a quick stop in the ladies room before we go. Daddy and Flik continue looking around while Mommy empties her walnut-sized bladder.

When I come out of the bathroom, I immediately see Flik sitting on a counter and Daddy standing next to him. They are sitting there, patiently waiting for me. They had gone back to get an R2D2 doll and Flik was quietly playing with it as they waited. (Well, as quiet as you can be while playing with a screeching doll.) As I approach, hearing it wail, I say, "Well, we are definitely not buying that toy."

"Um..." from Daddy.

"What? You didn't buy it, did you?"

"He really likes it."

"Do you really want to have something that obnoxious in the house?"

"Well, it's too late now."

And it was. So we brought R2D2 back to the hotel. And all week, the adults squeezed little R2 and made him squeal. And then we brought him home. And pretty much the only time he made any noise was when Mommy told the story of the crazy Daddy who bought R2.

And now R2 is no longer with us. But I'll think of him and our trip to Disney whenever I hear his squeal.


2 comments:

Paulette said...

LOL! that is some toy! Can't say offhand if my kids have lost a toy and I was more upset than them but it's probably happened. I know I was way more upset than DS when he broke his day old Buzz Lightyear's arm by seeing if he could fly. I didn't even buy it and in was all like, OMG Nana just bought that! He was all like, Cool he's like Buzz in the movie now. (only I couldn't fix Poor Buzz)

Bernadette said...

Daddy's are programmed to buy and do things Mommy's think are dumb and silly. My mom loved telling the story about my dad buying us Popsicles for lunch because when he asked what to you want for lunch we said popsicles.

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