Nic and his "dude" - life is full of surprises

Last week, we were pleasantly surprised by one of the regulars at storytime. Wait, let me give you some background. The Oxon Hill library has held "family storytime" on Thursdays at 7 for as long as I can remember living on this side of town. In fact, I used to take Davon from the time he was 2 years old until the library closed for renovations. And now with the new crew of little people, storytime has become a part of our weekly routine. We rarely miss and have met some wonderful people at this weekly event.

Case in point, Miss Alivia and her mommy. Alivia is about 4 years old and is one of the cutest little people you would want to see. She brings her "baby" almost every week and Nic has been completely fascinated with her doll. He always wants to take it from her and play with it. Well, we were so completely unprepared for a wonderful gift from Alivia and her mom . . . Nic now has his own "dude" and he hasn't put him down since Alivia gave him to her. And he is the cutest (well, fifth cutest to me) thing. I love that he's a brown dude and has clothes. He's a product of the Build a Bear folk and you can shop for a "friend" for a special little one in your life by going to http://www.friends2bmade.com/

So this is a shout out to Alivia and her mom as well as a testament to the fact that you never know what the impact you have on others is. Be mindful of that and live like you could never have too many friends in life. You never know . . . you might be pleasantly surprised as your friend list could rapidly expand.

NOTE: I just found out the company is closing this part of its holdings so if you want to get your special little one a "friend" you need to get busy ASAP. According to the service rep I spoke with (because I placed an order), the stores are closing and the remaining inventory will be available online mid August so you may have some luck but options will be limited.