A Bear-y Merry Christmas To All

Once upon a time there were three bears…no, wait a minute, there were four! And they lived in a lovely big house on a quiet wide village street in rural heaven. All was well with the bears as Mama and Papa worked at their teaching jobs and Boy Bear and Girl Bear played and learned and gradually grew into lovely adults, eventually going off to find their own bear fortunes, one just across town and the other way across the country.

Mama Bear and Papa Bear were happy for their bear children but couldn’t help feeling their lovely big house was a little empty, so they decided to sell the lovely big house and look for something smaller, just right for two. Eventually, after a long, long time, these things came to pass, and Mama Bear and Papa Bear began to clear out their lovely big house. Many things would go with them to the new, just right for two condo, but many others had to be sold.
The Bears held two huge garage sales, advertised several bigger treasures in the paper, sent pictures over email to many of their bear friends, and eventually their house started to look really bare. (ha ha!) Piles of boxes filled the corners, all labeled with strange coding: Fragile, basement. Odds ‘n’ sods, m.b., serving pcs. Kitchen, and so on. Mama Bear wondered where she had put many things, such as the theatre tickets and the bear passports, and she said a little prayer to the Big Bear in the sky that all would appear in the new place.

While Papa Bear was off working very hard and very long hours, Mama Bear planned for the new home. She got the address, the phone number, the Internet connection, the water, electricity and heat---my! Bears need a lot of things---and every night lay in bed hoping she hadn’t forgotten anything.

Finally the big bear moving van came on December 14 and Mama Bear and Papa Bear got up for the last time in their lovely big house, showered for the last time in their shower, packed up a few precious breakables into their bearmobile and welcomed the Moose Movers at the front door. The Bears were off to their new condo in the city, hoping to be settled just in time for Christmas.

A very wonderful Christmas to all of you bear friends. We have our first bear grandchild on the way—Beth and Rich—expected March 1. We are ecstatic! Please come and see us in our new home.