If I had been willing to acknowledge it, I would have seen it coming over the last couple of years. Broccoli the Bear, one of the few items that consistently made the trek between shared custody homes, has finally been relegated to the closet.
Yoseph, nearly age 13, would trot him out from time to time–sometimes to entertain his little brother and sometimes to torment him. Once in a while, Broccoli would receive a place of honor on a carefully made bed.
Last week I stepped into Yo’s closet to put something away–and there he was.
In a closet that has evolved from little kid size hangers to full-size hangers…from a trunk overflowing with toys to just a few Nerf guns tucked in a corner…from sets of sheets with little boy prints to those with just plain patterns…there sat Broccoli the Bear, in his final resting place. It appeared to be a place of honor, though! Perhaps in recognition for all they went through together, Broccoli was seated on a shelf instead of shoved in a corner.
It was bittersweet but beautiful.
