Partially Decapitated Bunny

Confession: For the last fifteen years or so, I’ve gone to sleep most nights clutching a stuffed bunny. This bunny, which once belonged to my great-grandmother, replaced an earlier bunny I’d had since I was a baby that lost its clutchability when it had to have its stuffing replaced.

Here’s the thing about the bunny: while it was once called Sarah, I have not given it any lifelike qualities, it’s not any sort of emotional support, and I’m quite capable of sleeping without it. But I’m more comfortable sleeping with it.

I fall asleep on my side, and without a buffer, I tend to curl my wrists together unnaturally and knock my elbows into one another, which can be downright painful sometimes. If I hang on to a pillow, or the bunny, or something along those lines, I’ll fall asleep with my arms and hands in a much more natural position, and I don’t wake up in pain. Although the bunny did travel with me to college, it doesn’t go on trips with me – in those cases, I make do with a spare hotel pillow or something.

The bunny is the perfect size and shape and has the perfect amount of squishiness. Most pillows I’ve found tend to be too square and/or bulky. And yeah, the bunny is old, and was never very cute to begin with, and its colors are fading, and to anyone else it probably smells a little weird, but all of these things are fine with me, because I haven’t shared my bed with anyone in a while, and I sleep better with the bunny.

But recently I have discovered a problem with the bunny that must be dealt with.

The bunny’s head is falling off.

I noticed this a few days ago when I was changing my bedsheets, and I’m not entirely sure what to do about it.

Once upon a time, the bunny had some sort of frou-frou gossamer-lace-somethingorother trim around its neck, which I ripped off because it was scratchy and annoyed me. Its neck-ish region was made of some kind of cheap satin-like material, which came apart at one point, possibly because I had ripped the trim off of the top of it years before, oh and also because we put it through the wash once. My mom or my nanie fixed it, patching the shredded satin-ish stuff with a sturdier yellow fabric that almost matched, and I went about my merry way.

But now, the bunny’s head is nearly halfway off its body, and the stuffing is kind of falling out a bit, and I think it might be beyond repair. Even if it were fixable, I sure couldn’t do it, as I am barely domestic enough to sew a button properly, and I feel beyond silly at nearly 25 years old asking someone to sew my stuffed bunny’s head back on so that I don’t accidentally complete the decapitation process in the midst of a particularly vigorous night’s sleep.

Did I mention that I can be a very active sleeper? It’s true.

I’m tempted to measure the bunny and go looking for a pillow that has about the same measurements. Because, seriously, I want to fall asleep comfortably, and I have a feeling that sleeping with a headless bunny won’t be very comfortable. Not to mention the fact that it’s more than a little weird. I’m not sure what to do.

I should add that this post was partially inspired by a post I read at The Redhead Papers the other day, and confessional courage came from a comment on the same post.

6 Replies to “Partially Decapitated Bunny”

  1. This kid could probably use that bunny about now. You should go pay him a visit.

    The really terrific part about the story, however, is the “survey” that accompanies it.

    sweet dreams, kiddo.

  2. You know you’re gonna ask me to fix it, so don’t even try to act like you won’t. Just remind me and I’ll take a look at it.

  3. I have the exact same problem with squinching my arms up in such a way that afterwhile it starts to hurt. To help alleviate this, tor years and years, through college and then some, I always slept with this cuddly teddy bear. Once I met my future husband, I had to put the teddy bear away, as it seemed a little strange. I always felt so guilty when I put the bear under the bed. When husband and I moved into a new place, I had a major cleanout and decided to get rid of the bear all together. The problem is, I still squinch my arms up way too much. So now I have to get our duvet situated just right so I can clutch enough of it in my arms so they don’t start to hurt. Good luck with the bunny.

  4. Just so ya know. The bunny is no longer losing it’s head, it’s firmly attached, although it is not quite squared on his/her shoulders. And that is funny.

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