Sleeping With A Rhinoceros

One of the things we have the opportunity to do in preparing for Colin's arrival is to put together a 'care package' that we'll get to send to him at his orphanage in China. There is a list of suggested items that we should include in the package - a disposable camera for the orphanage workers to take pictures of Colin during his everyday routine, a vinyl kids photo album with pictures of us inside, and a stuffed animal. The list goes on, but these are the things that I'm probably most focused on, probably because their things that I feel capable of accomplishing.

So during a recent shopping trip, I casually strolled through the kids/toys area looking for a possible teddy bear to put in the care package. There were a few choices, but nothing that really caught my attention. Most of the stuffed animals were either too big, too small or too hard, or they played some annoying little ditty when you pressed one of their appendages. All in all, it was turning into a fruitless trip.

That is until I dug in a little deeper and discovered these little guys...




Admittedly, when I began the search, I wasn't thinking 'stuffed rhinoceros.' Let's face it, rhinos are not the most adorable of God's creatures, nor do they invoke pictures of cuddly-ness. But when I found these guys, I knew I had a winner. They were super soft, just the right size, and, well, they are stinkin' cute. And they were the last two in on the shelf, so I quickly made my purchase.

And starting tonight, we'll be having the rhinos join us for our nightly slumber. This way, some of our 'scent' will hopefully transfer to the rhinos, so that when we send one to Colin, he'll be able to smell us and become familiar with our scent.

So why did we purchase two rhinos if only one of the pair will be heading to China in the care package. You see, one of the things that happens with these care packages is that the items we send will likely become 'property' of the orphanage once we pick up Colin for use with the other children. The camera will be returned to us, but the pictures we send will likely become souvenirs for the orphanage workers of the family that adopted Colin, and the rhino will become Colin's gift back to the orphanage. So when we travel to China, we will take the second rhino with us and we'll be able to give Colin his 'forever' rhino on the same day we become his 'forever' family. There's certainly a poetic symmetry to all of it.

Well, I suppose it's time Anita and I and the rhino's turn in for the night.