Barrels 2

This is Barrels and Barrels 2. We've had Barrels for more than 15 years, hence his shrunken look compared to Barrels 2, well worn out, he looks from all the handling. 15 years is lifetime for a real dog. Barrels has gone many places with us. Somehow, he has always been around. My parents got him for my boy when he was still a little kiddo. I can still remember that we got him from Jusco in Ipoh. Somehow, my boy took a liking to the small but cute little stuffed dog. And over the years, Barrels always held a special and dear place in our home.

Our girl somehow also has great affection for Barrels. She has a small hill of soft toys but somehow Barrels would be one of her permanent fixtures on her bed. Bedtime seems incomplete without the company of Barrels. And that's how it has been for both my kids. Sometimes I would listen to both my kids argue about Barrels. The older one would dog-nap him and bring his little sis near tears. My gal makes a tiny house out of box for him, which she puts on her bed. She says it's Barrels' house. He goes to sleep with her almost every night, just as he did with her brother for many years.

Over the years, Barrels weathered washing machines, trips, play... basically stuff that you'd expect a kid to put a soft, small, cuddly toy through. A couple of months back, my gal and boy refused to allow me to put Barrels in the washing machine. Somehow Big Bro managed to convince his lil sis that the ordeal would separate his head from it's body. And a while after that, my gal showed me Barrels thinning chin. They were worried about Barrels' wellbeing.

And so began our quest to track down another Barrels. Much to our disappointment, we discovered that Barrels was no longer in production. We kept an eye out for his like whenever we went shopping. No luck. Then we turned to EBay. A couple years ago, Other Half googled for Barrels and found 5 on sale. But they were all in the US. The sellers were not willing to ship to addresses out of the US. In our last Google attempt, we found out that there was only one Barrels left. We were at odds end trying to figure out a way to get it. And that's when I remembered my old friend; one of my few friends (I think) who will be game enough to humor us in our quest to get Barrels 2. She managed to get Barrels 2 for us and even transported him bagged up in their luggage back to Malaysia!

This is Barrels 1 and Barrels 2 with Aurora, another latest addition to our family of stuffed toys. From another continent, across the Pacific into our house, Barrels 2 and Aurora! And prior to that, we even got to view him on Skype before he made his long journey! Stuffed toys and growing up.... I heard that Barrels 2 got properly introduced to all of her boys' 'friends' when he arrived at their home! So adorable, at an age when everything is so innocent!

I think this is definitely a tale that will definitely bring on more than just a smile when we talk about it in the years to come.... the tale of Barrels 1 and Barrels 2. My gal says Barrels 1 and Barrels 2 have hit off famously and are now very good friends!