This was the seemingly small question asked by my 6 year old prior to our departure from Isle of Palms today. I knew immediately that we had left it in the condo. Despite the fact that our entire SUV was packed to the brim with suitcases, it took just a millisecond for me to realize “rabbit” wasn’t packed in any of them.
Who is rabbit?, you might ask. Chase has had “rabbit,” also affectionately referred to as “Mr Bunny Hoppers,” since he was born. It took some time for me to realize that it wasn’t necessarily the actual stuffed animal that he was attached to, it was the long satin ribbon – taken off my pocketbook and wrapped around Bunny Hoppers - that held enormous value. The ribbon is what Chase uses to self-soothe when he’s frightened, trying to fall asleep, calm down when upset, or just relaxing with his momma. He takes the ribbon and rubs it on his cheek, usually the same way every time. It was one of the first self-soothing strategies he used before he could even walk.
Pulled over on the side of the road, my husband looked at me matter-of-factly and said, “You should probably start talking about getting a new rabbit.” He obviously meant well. It didn’t matter. I darted back, “NO, we will turn around, drive back to the condo, and find him.” Obviously it wasn’t that simple. It wasn’t our condo. It was a condo that was sure to be occupied again by 3:00pm that afternoon. The cleaning crew for the enormous realty group we rented from had already come and gone.
With tears in his eyes, Chase looked up at me.
“Momma, what are we going to do?”
With feigned confidence, I said calmly, “We’re going back to get him. Rabbit will be there. …And if he isn’t, we will find him.” I prayed I was right.
After initial communication with the rental company, I got the standard response that if the cleaning crew found anything of value, we could pay $25.00 for it to be shipped to us.
If only it were that simple.
I said, “no, you don’t actually understand. We are not leaving this island until I find him. My child has sensory issues and while you might not know what that means, believe me when I tell you, it is real. And if it means driving all over the island to find the cleaning crew, I will do that. But I’m NOT leaving this island.”
You would think it was a diamond ring. I rifled through garbage cans on every floor of the building. Nothing.
30-40 text messages later with the rental company, we tracked down the cleaning crew, one of several that managed this set of properties. The manager located the cleaner who responded, “I actually did find a stuffed animal and figured he must be of great value to someone very little. So I put it in the master bedroom closet, tucked in the back corner.”
It is highly likely I will never meet that cleaner. But that cleaner understood value. That cleaner understood that there is value in things other than jewelry left behind.
Around 3:45pm, we were reunited with Mr. Bunny Hoppers. Chase hugged Mr. Bunny Hoppers as tight as he could and in that moment, I realized that Mr. Bunny Hoppers himself was just as valuable to Chase as the satin ribbon.
If you’ve read this post up to this point and you are still waiting for the point to the story, you haven’t met someone with sensory needs. If you are a parent of a child with sensory needs, I hear you. I see you. And I understand you.
Sensory issues are real.
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