Describe "Friend"

On the left we have Percy Penguin and on the right is Fluffy Puppy. If Puppy looks a bit more aged than Percy, it is because he has had more than an extra three years of love on him.

Fluffy Puppy has been with my 10 year old daughter since day one. Obviously Fluffy Puppy isn't fluffy ~ I really can't remember how his name came about. Puppy is held together with lots of love and plenty of thread. On many occasions I have had to reassemble his tail, nose, ears and eyes. He has been a faithful friend that has brought comfort and security into a sweet little girl's life.

Percy has been with my 7 year old son from day one. Want to know how I came up with Percy? It was the name of my academic advisor in college - a most amusing little man. Percy has been on plenty of adventures parachuting off the bunk beds, tobogganing down the stairs on a cardboard sled, and bravely participated in target practice on the top of the couch.

I'll never forget one special Christmas when I was a tiny girl receiving a brand new Miss Piggy Doll with golden braids of yarn. It is one of very few things I still have from child hood. My husband still has "skrill" ~ his name for squirrel (girls were "grills"), you would never know by looking at it - it's tail was loved off a long, long time ago.

What is it about these pieces of fabric and stuffing when sewing together makes us bond to them from infancy? Is this common to man kind only in the last century? I really wonder if any one has undertaken this part of human psychology into consideration for a study. One thing I know for sure is that what they provide is priceless and they are completely irreplaceable. What a great way to describe friends!