Dear Linus, I always wondered what was up with your mothball-and-dust-collecting blanket that you took everywhere with you while on the set of A Charlie Brown Christmas.  Well, now I have my own little Linus and while she can’t tell me why yet, I think she would probably say it’s her closest friend next to her dog, Barley.  After all, there’s nothing it won’t do for her.  It acts as a security blanket when she’s watching cartoons by herself on the couch or when strangers come to visit.  It makes an excellent carpet for which her daddy can slip-and-slide her around the hardwoods on.  It is a quick clean-up for “uh-oh” milk spills (that she does on purpose just to get to say “uh-oh, keen-keen, yay!”)  It shades her eyes from the bright sun on our afternoon walks and even on sweltering afternoons tailgating before the big game.  It even keeps her company in the lonely backseat of our cars.  And of course, no nap or bedtime is fathomable without “banket.”  It’s practically family.

It’s a good thing my little Linus has a good mommy who washes and dries it almost daily so that the mothballs and dust don’t take over.  Her room at least.