Ari sleeps with three puppies (i.e., A Puppy, I Puppy, and Patchy) and a blanket at naptime and bedtime. He schleps the puppies around the house. Sometimes they come on car rides. As a result, they’ve been looking a little messy. (Also, they smell like drool, but that’s another story.) Therefore, it was time for them to get clean.
“Ari!” I called downstairs. “I’m giving the puppies a bath. Do you want to help them get prepare for their bath?”
“No!” he called back.
Fine by me.
I zipped each puppy up in a mesh lingerie bag, added the appropriate liquids, and started the washing machine.
Ten minutes later, Ari tore through my bedroom door where I was sitting beside Isabelle working on writing. He must’ve realized his puppies were in the washing machine because his face was covered in red blotches and tears.
“I wanna give my puppies a hug before they have a bath!”
“Buddy, they’re already in the washing machine,” I replied.
“But I need to give them a hug!”
“Come here,” I said extending my arms to him.
Ari climbed onto my bed and fell into me. I felt the wetness and warmth of his face as he sobbed in my lap.
Isabelle must’ve remembered how it felt to have her special bears in the wash since she sprung into action. “Do you want me to get Schleppy? Or Teddy?”
“Marshemellow!” Ari declared between sobs. “Teddy!”
Isabelle sprung out from under the comforter and dashed to her room. Marshmellow must not have been on her bed since she returned with the infamous Teddy (which she never wants to let him touch) and Igloo (who had once been Ari’s panda that she adopted). She handed both of the bears to Ari for him to hold.
Ari crawled off of my lap and sat between us. He hugged Igloo and Teddy. Isabelle hugged him. She whispered sweet words into his ear and rubbed his back. She told him it would be okay… that his puppies would be out soon. After a few minutes, Ari calmed down and toddled off.
* * * * *
Once the washing machine stopped, I called downstairs to Ari.
“Ari! Do you want to come upstairs and say hello to your puppies before the get dry from their bath?”
Do you think he came?
Raising Literate Humans 
Oh these pictures!! And Isabelle’s kindness and Ari’s love for his puppies….it’s just a beautiful story. So glad I read it this morning!
Thanks for stopping by, Kathleen!
Perfect small moment to capture!
It brought tears to my eyes, reminding me of a certain “Barky.”
Do write the story of Barky!
I love the stuffy names! Kids are so creative. I didn’t think my children were attached to any stuffies, but then we all went into lockdown and suddenly they are everywhere we are!
Lots of things have changed in this lockdown time, haven’t they?!?!
Oh, you know I loved reading this! How about Isabelle! So grownup and so helpful – incredible, really!
Of course, the pictures are great – Ari looking at his puppy dogs. He must have quite the stuffed animal collection by now. You never know when another might arrive…
Please let Ralph know that Patchy is the one he picked out for Ari’s third birthday!
I, too, so proud of Isabelle.
There is so much love eeking from this post. It warmed my day reading this as it brought me back to those days of washing teddies and snuggles from siblings. Thank you!
Glad I brought you back to that!
Oh what a sweet and tender story. The love is overflowing. Isabelle is so gentle with her little brother. These are such beautiful captured moments. They remind me of when my own boys were young. Thank you for sharing this sweet moment.
She’s so good to him. Granted, she gets him to parrot things I wish she didn’t, but by in large, she’s an amazing big sister.
So sweet 🙂 My granddaughter has a special teddy bear called Coco, he goes everywhere with her. 🙂
Sounds like Coco gets his fair share of baths too!
How empathetic Isabelle is! Ari is lucky to have his big sister.
How well I remember “bath day” which I tried to do while my kids were too busy to notice!
All three of my grown children kept their special “lovie” until they left home by the way.
She’s so good to him!
Big sis to rescue! I am glad there was a solution to the problem. Waiting for favourite stuffed animals to go through a washing cycle would have been a sad long time otherwise.
It’s hard to wait. (Reminds me of Mo Willems’ book, Waiting Isn’t Easy.)
Adorable. I love how Isabelle came to the rescue – and how real the puppies are to Ari. Your description of his red face brought back memories of my own guys, frustrated about things I couldn’t fix. I’m glad he got to see them before they dried!