AMBER ALERT!!! Teddy is Missing!

Help! (not that you can do much) Evelyn's beloved stuffy "Teddy" is missing. This has been her special friend since she was 9 months old. Just yesterday (when we still knew where he was) she told me "Teddy is my BEST friend".

She brought him with her in the car when we went to playschool. I remember putting him in the pocket of the seat organizer and saying "We'll put Teddy here so he doesn't get lost". I took her into class, jacket off, shoes away etc. I have no memory of Teddy being there.

After I picked her up, she asked after Teddy as we went into the house. I said "Oh, He's in the car, I'll get him later". So, bedtime rolls around and she asks for him again. "Oh yah, I'll go get him" I say.

I went confidently to the car - sure that Teddy would be there waiting for me. But he was not there! I searched the whole car, nothing. I returned to the house and started to search everywhere. All in vain.

You see, Teddy has gone missing a couple times before. We have found him tucked in the folds of a blanket, or hiding in plain sight with other stuffy's. Once he was under the couch. A few months ago, she left him on a shelf in the drugstore. Each time he went missing, a small panic started in my chest. Teddy is like a real person to Evelyn. It is kind of like we have lost a beloved pet or family member. Always, he was found.

Not this time.

When Ryan and I went in to break the news to Evelyn, we found her sitting cross legged in a small box, on top of her bed. A look of hope and tenuous emotional control on her face. She said she was sitting in her 'nest' (I guess like Big Bird has a nest). As we started to tell her we couldn't find Teddy, her lip started to quiver, and her breathing became ragged. Her eyes welled up with tears and she exploded into a wail of ... drama ... and mourning.

My heart broke. I almost cried with her.

When she calmed down a bit, she said "I took Teddy to playschool. I forgot him at playschool!" She seems convinced that she disobeyed and took him into class. She says he is sitting on the carpet by the books on one of the letter squares. I hope she is right.

Ryan has reminded me of the conversation that followed the tears:
Evelyn (shortly after her tears): "We have to make another teddy for the kid who has teddy."

Us: "Huh?"

E: "We have to make another teddy for the kids!"

Us: "You mean to trade for teddy back if they accidently took Teddy home?"

E: "Yes. So they won't be sad."

Us: "Uh."

Today, we will seek. I just hope we will find.


Update:

We found him! She indeed left him at school. He was waiting for us on the shelf with the toy dinosaurs.