I love blankets. I kind of feel like you can never have enough of them. Well, unless you have limited storage space like we do. But really, who doesn’t love a great blanket to snuggle under?! The big boys have a variety of blankets they have been gifted over the years so when I was pregnant with Asher I made it a point to get at least 1 blanket that was “just his”. It wasn’t a hand-me-down like most everything else he has. For one of my showers, a dear friend got Asher a blanket as well. This was not just any blanket, it had characters on it. Now, some people know that I am not a fan of character covered anything. It’s just not my thing. So, when I first peeked a glimpse of the blanket I was a little worried. Please don’t let it be one of those newer, creepy cartoon characters. You know, the ones that are on TV now that are so different from the Saturday morning cartoons we used to watch. Anyway, I saw that it was a Toy Story blanket, one of Hub’s favorite Disney movies. I guess it can’t be that bad right? I pulled the blanket out and it was a big double lined fleece blanket with Toy Story characters and soft fringe. It even had Asher’s initials in the corner. ADORABLE! Gasp! Was I really liking a character blanket?? I guess this third baby was making me soft!

Fast forward about a year and we’ve begun using it regularly in Asher’s playpen (you know how you can’t have blankets within 10 feet of a baby while they’re sleeping so we waited to use the big blankets until then). When we were packing for our trip to Michigan over Christmas, I thought it would be the perfect blanket to bring along. It’s big and cozy and he really seemed to be loving it. I also brought 2 of his other favorite blankets hoping to make his “mobile” sleeping experience a little better.

About half way through our trip, on our way to my parent’s house, we encountered some pretty nasty weather. It was cold, so cold that the buckle on the car top luggage carrier broke clean off and we had to CRAM everything in the back of the car. As I was driving, we noticed that traffic suddenly slowed down. We were in the far left lane and just up ahead there was a car that had crashed so hard into the concrete median that is was propped up at an angle. Just beyond that was another car that also appeared to have crashed and it’s front bumper was on the ground. There was a lady standing near the propped up car but there were no emergency vehicles there yet. As we begun to pass the second car, we realized that what we thought was a bumper on the ground was actually a woman lying in the snow on the shoulder of the road. I pulled over and hubs jumped out to go check on her. The boys, of course alarmed by seeing what they thought was a dead body on the side of the road, began praying for her. We prayed for the people in the accident, those who were helping and those on their way. A few moments later hubs came running back looking to see if we had any blankets available to cover her up. She was likely okay- probably just in shock. They didn’t want to move her but it was too cold to keep her uncovered. All we had were Asher’s 3 favorite blankets. So, without much thought, we dug them out of the back of the car (I literally had some of our luggage sitting on the side of I-94 trying to find things) and he took them back over to cover her up. When I got back in the car, I was torn. Do I just say keep the blankets? The other 2 blankets were hand-me-downs and although he loved them, he really loved the Toy Story blanket. And it has his initials on it. But do I sound like a selfish jerk asking for that back? And then I realize I sound even more of an idiot because I’m worried about that while this lady is laying on the side of the road in the snow. After a bit, the police showed up, got Hubs statement, and then sent him on his way. He got back in the car and said that he told them to keep the blankets. Without any forethought to my words, I told him we needed the Toy Story one back. It has his initials, it was a gift, and he loves it. So, because he’s wonderful, he went back and got the blanket (they were getting her into the ambulance by then so she was no longer using the blankets). So, after a good washing at my mom’s house, he was able to snuggle back up with his blanket. He’s been using that at bed ever since.

It wasn’t until earlier last week I realized how much he loves that blanket though. I had it in the laundry and was washing it for the second time because I had let it sit in the washer too long. Anyone else do that? I finally had it in the dryer when I was putting Asher to bed. I grabbed another fleece blanket and tucked him in. He was not interested in going to bed, which is weird because he basically puts himself to bed every night. He literally takes us to his room, has us rock him, and then points to his crib when he’s ready to go to sleep. So for him to be fussy was unusual. I figured that the easy bedtime was a phase and he would have to cry it out. Well, over 30 minutes later, he was still crying. The dryer finished and I took the blanket in there as a last ditch effort to get him to sleep. As soon as he saw it, he smiled, danced and grabbed for it. He immediately laid down and fell asleep. SERIOUSLY!

That is when I was SO thankful that Hubs went back and got that blanket. This amazing blanket is not only Asher’s favorite, it has some fun stories and meaning behind it. It was a very thoughtful gift, personalized to him, and also helped someone in a time of need. I like to think that if that blanket could help a stranger in their moment of distress, it can certainly comfort Asher, and it does every night.