Pooh and Me

My favorite cast of characters has got to be A.A. Milne’s Winnie the Pooh and company. I was a fan from the time I was an infant, chewing on the ear of my first Winnie the Pooh. My mom who frequented craft fairs found the entire group (minus Rabbit. My friend Adam says Rabbit is underrated) crocheted, including Baby Roo in Kanga’s pocket. Sometimes on Christmas morning my parents will arrange them under the Christmas tree. Now I have four or five Poohs, three Tiggers, two Eeyore’s, two Piglets and one of everybody else (except Rabbit). I don’t talk about these guys and my connection to them nearly as much as I should. So I will do that now.

Winnie the Pooh: Not to be narcissistic or anything but I remind myself most of Pooh. Pooh is known for three things: his kind attitude towards friends (and strangers!), his penchant for writing “hums” and poetry, and his hunger. I talk about my appetite a lot on here. Unlike Pooh, I do not limit myself to hunny. I’m very partial to sushi. And any type of carb. One thing that makes me happy is Pooh is never down on his weight or self-hating towards his tummy. He just does his stoutness exercises and tries his best. Good for you, Pooh. There’s a reason I chewed on your ears. We were fast friends from the beginning.

Piglet: Piglet seems the most obvious match for me since he has a bit of anxiety (or a lot depending on how you look at it). Piglet also has a generous and brave heart, with the best intentions which I aspire to be like. He even gave his house away for Owl to live in so Eeyore wouldn’t be embarrassed. Mostly Piglet worries about ferocious animals like Heffalumps and Woozles to the same degree I worried about not being able to close my locker in between classes or getting my period in Social Studies. He is Pooh’s right hand man (besides Christopher Robin of course).

Eeyore: While I empathize with Eeyore I never really identified with him. There are people who see the glass half empty, people who see it as half full or there are people who want to fill it up. That would be me. A lot of times in my life I’ve had to be proactive, especially in new situations, making new friends. I switched schools several times and ultimately dropped out. But I met new people each time. Of course I do understand Eeyore’s melancholia. I get it mostly in the evenings. I prefer being manic to being depressed even though its much scarier like a rollar coaster you never signed on for. Bottom line: Eeyore is that pessimistic friend that we don’t show we love enough.

Tigger: Tigger is confidence. Tigger is when I work a room. My boyfriend is definitely an introvert, which I think makes him all the more special (he chose me), but I love meeting new people. A good night is when I get three phone numbers. Sometimes I use them for interviews. Sometimes I throw them away. But sometimes a good friendship emerges. I am a little like Tigger when I’m manic, bouncing from one person/ subject/ outfit to another. Usually I don’t sleep. I tend to pull allnighters when I’m really bad. The most wonderful thing about Tiggers is I’m the only one.

Rabbit: I tend to agree with Adam, Rabbit is underrated. Master of organization and planning, Rabbit is a busy animal. But he is a gracious host and welcomes Pooh to his home

(where he proceeds to eat up all his hunny), although he is not happy when Pooh gets stuck in his front doorway. I guess I wouldn’t be all that pleased either (though I might make an exception if it was Pooh). People label Rabbit “OCD” which of course pisses me off (it’s a pet peeve of mine). Not everyone who  is neat has OCD.

Christopher Robin: A playful boy who leads Pooh and his friends on their adventures. I still have about half of my childhood playthings in my room (the other half is in the attic). I have the American Girl dolls- Molly, Samantha, Kit in case you cared- , barbie dolls, paper dolls, and select stuffed animals. Upstairs is my collection of baby dolls including my favorite, Andrew, named for my cousin. He just got married. Maybe I’ll pass Baby Andrew along to his first child.

Anyway this was fun revisiting the crew. There is something so wholesome about them that even the worst movies (cough Blood and Honey cough) can’t ruin.