Memory Monday part 2

Thank you to everyone who has already joined in with my Memory Monday meme. I 've seen some fab posts.

I'm sticking with the 70's again today and I'm taking you back to my childhood.

Picture the scene.....

This is me aged 5 or 6. I am on a beach in Wales though you would never have guessed that due to the fact that the sun is shining. I'm clearly having fun - or pulling faces because I don't like the sand in my pants... (still don't in case you wondered), but on the whole this is a happy scene.

A little later and the sun is still shining and I am making a right old mess with an ice cream but happily sitting on a towel to keep the sand out of you know where...

Now this is where things turn dark.

I was a thumb sucker and I had the manky of mankiest ribbons that had many years ceased to be the blanket it once was, but I loved it and I took it everywhere with me.

My parents were desperate to part me from my beloved smelly ribbon but I was having none of it.

We were holidaying with family friends and the family friends had a dog. Lets call him Bob in the interest on non disclosure.

I liked Bob - we had been playing together on the beach for most of the day.

I'd been having fun letting him knock down my coffee cup sandcastles and watching him dig. Then things got bad. Very very bad. As we packed up our belongings to head back to the car I felt a huge surge of panic. My silky ribbon was gone.

I cried and I sobbed for days. I was anxious and I couldn't sleep. I wanted my ribbon back with every inch of my being.

Then one morning the holiday photographs flew through the letterbox (shows how long ago this was... post, morning??) and as I sat on my mums knee looking through them she started to chuckle.

"Look.." she said "I managed to get a shot of Bob burying your ribbon."

I looked at her - I thought she was joking but she clearly wasn't. I know that I was only five but something changed between us that day and the feeling I had as she chuckled has always stuck with me. 

My crew have all had their attachments. In just about every photo that I have of Sonny's pre school years he has his thumb in his mouth and his Cuski draping over his shoulder. ModelGirl has her cot quilt that she still sleeps snuggled up in even though she is eight and FunnyGirl has a bit of a thing for all things silky..... but we'll talk about that another time.. 

I've never felt the need to take their comforters away - especially as I gave it to them in the first place. 

I know that they will  give it up when the time is right for them but I have other parent friends that have resorted to the same drastic measures as my mum did. 

It seems to be quite a contentious issue - but what do you think? Is there a right time to ditch the dummy or blanket and how will you go about it?
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