A Symbol of Home
by Kate Cunningham | @katewcunningham
I was talking with Hanna (a fellow WACK creator!) about having a blankie that I love. She also has one. We knew we weren’t alone, so we asked around for people with snuggly loved ones and this photo series is what came from that conversation. Blankies and stuffed animals can be such a source of comfort, love, nostalgia, and safety, but no one ever talks about them. We think our blankies and bears deserve acknowledgement because they are important to all of us!
Dante
He/him/his
"I remember as a kid, you know Linus in Charlie Brown? He had the blankie…[and] some character asked what he was going to do when he was older and he was like, 'Oh! I’ll make it into a handkerchief,' and I was like, 'I'm going to do that with Ducky.'"
Jane
She/her/hers
“When I felt sad the past couple of weeks when I was holding him I was like, 'Jane don’t take anything seriously. You’re holding a stuffed watermelon and it’s making you happy. What does anything even mean.’”
Delaney
She/her/hers
"So, I got Priscilla because I originally had this bear named Pancake who was from the same company...and he was like my guy and then I lost him tragically one day in a Target. My mom was devastated. I was devastated. Then, one day Priscilla appeared on my porch saying that she was Pancake’s cousin and she was here to take care of me and she’s been with me ever since."
Marianna
She/her/hers
“It has my niece's voice in it, so I have a bear with her voice, and she has a bear with my voice.”
Diti
She/her/hers
"It was something I didn’t have to worry about going away or changing when everything was.”
Katie
She/her/hers
“If I’m traveling I’ll put this little guy in my backpack, especially when I’m flying. I get really anxious, and then I can just look at my little bear, and he gives me comfort. Then when I’m at school, it reminds me of home and my family.”
Leah
She/her/hers
“I actually only got this moose about a month ago, but I had a moose (not exactly like it) when I was a kid and I would carry it around while I was traveling because we traveled a lot when I was a kid. But I lost him when I moved here [Boston]...a couple weeks in, [and] we went to the Garment District, and we found him in the pile of clothes. That’s why he’s named Goose the Moose because that’s what my other one was called."
Kate
She/her/hers
"My blankie has been so many places with me. When I go to bed, no matter where I am, it really feels like home.”
Erina
She/her/hers
“When I was three, my mom took me to a toy shop and held out two stuffed bears. I chose BearBear, and he’s been with me ever since. When I moved to Boston, I had to sacrifice bringing so many things, but it wasn’t even a thought to not bring BearBear. He had to come with me.”
Audrey
She/her/hers
"My boyfriend and I have been together for almost four years. We went to a carnival in my hometown…and he won it for me, so we call it my $30 bear because it was totally a scam. It’s a really nice physical reminder of when we were in high school."
MaryCatherine
She/her/hers
“She reminds me of home when I’m here, and when I’m home she just reminds me of happy little times.”
Madelyn
She/her/hers
“Because it’s been with me for so long, it is the stuffed animal that I will literally cry into, so it is carrying so many years of tears in its body.”