{Five Friday} Real

“Real isn’t how you are made,” said the Skin Horse.

“It’s a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.”

“Does it hurt?” asked the Rabbit.

“Sometimes,” said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. “When you are Real you don’t mind being hurt.”

“Does it happen all at once, like being wound up,” he asked, “or bit by bit?”

“It doesn’t happen all at once,” said the Skin Horse. “You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept.

Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby.

But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.”

(from The Velveteen Rabbit, by Margery Williams)

Last night, you laughed at something silly I’d said. “You are so dang funny!” you told me.

And I felt real.

This morning, you turned off the 5:30 AM alarm, turned to me, and without opening your eyes (which wouldn’t have mattered as it was still pitch dark) mumbled, as you do each day, “Good morning beautiful!”

And I felt real.

For too many years, I kept myself on the shelf, convinced that you didn’t realize how fragile I was, how many sharp edges I have, how carefully I must be handled.

But you knew all that. And you brought me down off the shelf anyway.

After two decades, we both have a lot less hair (gone are my bad 80s perms!) We both use prescription reading glasses (you fought yours every step of the way!) You’ve got your knee braces, and I’ve got my Theraband.

We give “shabby chic” an entirely new meaning.

But “once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.” (Click to Tweet this.)

We are Real.