Rescuing Innocense

The Burning House is a creative online hodgepodge of photos where people photograph what they would rescue if their house was on fire. Amongst the endless collections of ipods, laptops, and designer shoes that people cherished, there was one post that immediately stood out to me. Rather than being just another cluttered picture of materialistic belongings, this one was simply a picture of a forty year old woman holding a teddy bear named Lache. 

At first I shook my head, admonishing the childish immaturities of others much older than I am. But then, right before I was about to move on to the next picture, I considered it. I thought back to my teddy bear, a stuffed walrus actually, and thought about what it meant to me. I remember getting it in a claw machine at Meijer when I was six. Ever since, he’s been with me through thick and thin.  When I was scared or feeling alone, I would run up to my bedroom and clutch him until everything seemed okay. Seeing this picture made me feel distraught at the idea of losing him, and suddenly, I understood why she felt such an attachment to her old friend. I suppose we never truly outgrow all of our childhood feelings. Perhaps rather than just being a stuffed animal she has had for a long time, Lache represents something more. He reminds her that once upon a time, things were simple and pure in the perception of a child. Her inclination to save him demonstrates that she is holding on to a piece of her childhood innocence.