The Bionic Bunny

Saturday at work a Dad came in with his young son. The little boy was holding a stuffed bunny toy ~ or to be more succint ~ what was left of it. This bunny looked like a cross between 

the Scarecrow after the flying monkeys had at him in the Wizard of Oz

 and the Fife player in the iconic Civil War picture.

OMG.  I was speechless. The dad had done a good job with the blue yarn, sewing the bunny.  His grandmother had tenderly wrapped him in white gauze. I looked at the little boy and told him that I would mend bunny but that I had to keep him to do it.  The Dad told him that they would find something else for him to sleep with.  It was their first time being parted.  Are you tearing up yet?  My heart just melted.

I worked on Frankenbunny as Julie dubbed him for the better part of the day. I probably put about 7-9 hours into mending him. I was determined to get the bunny back to the little boy so he wouldn't spend another night without him.

Some spots could do with a bit of darning. Other parts, duplicate stitch to reinforce frayed stitches. The back and one arm needed new pieces completely. I added new stuffing where needed.

By the end I was humming the theme to "The Six Million Dollar Man".  When I called the Dad, I said, "Are you old enough to know the show "The Six Million Dollar Man?" He did. I said, "We have the technology and we did rebuild him".

We met at the shop. His Dad had prepared him that bunny might look different. The Dad asked how much he owed us, and I told him "nothing". He was floored. I asked him to accept that it was a heartfelt good deed. You can't put a price on a good deed.

You know, I always write about how I'm a selfish knitter.  I rarely knit for others: the occasional baby gift and the holidays.  While working on Frankenbunny, I did not think about knitting anything else.

This whole situation touched my heart.  How blessed am I that I can repair this bunny and restore him to the little boy for more adventures?  I could do something really meaningful with sticks and string.

It made me think differently about the Otto bears I gave recently to my friends children.  Maybe one day those bears will be as meaningful to them and I'll have a place in their heart like they do in mine. When we knit for someone else, we are really giving a piece of ourselves manifested in a sweater, hat, or socks.  I don't think I'll think about knitting for others the same way again.

Click here to read Julie's wonderful blog post about Frankenbunny.