My mother had said the day would
come to pack my toys away;
I guess that I was all grown up
and they were in the way.

My bear had always been so neat;
the toy that I liked best;
I never thought that I'd be asked
to put my bear to rest.

But as we all begin to grow,
some things don't go our way,
and many times we feel sad;
so sad that we can't play.

That's how I felt when mom
announced that time was passing by;
so I asked Teddy for a date;
I'm sure he wondered why.

We took a walk around the block
and ate two candy bars,
then sat out on the big porch swing
and looked up at the stars.

I had to have a talk with him
as private as could be;
there were so many things to say
between just him and me.

I thanked him for his many hugs
and his great listening ears,
for all the nights he kept me warm
and helped remove my fears.

He always had such smiling eyes,
so precious and so dear,
but this time as I reached for him,
I thought I saw a tear.

Could I have touched his little heart
and caused my bear to cry?
With feelings so emotional, I thought
I heard him sigh.

I rubbed my eyes in disbelief,
then recognized that he was fine.
The tear had fallen from my cheek,
it wasn't his but mine.

My brother looked at me and stared.
He didn't understand.
My bear was not an old stuffed toy,
he was my dearest friend.

I wrapped him in a tiny cloth and
hugged him oh so tight;
and packed him in an old shoe box
and gently said, "good-night".

My father took my special box
and placed it in a trunk.
Then hauled it to the attic room
with all our other junk.

So many thoughts came to my mind
as I hopped into my bed.
First came glorious memories,
then worry filled my head.

I hope he doesn't mind the dark,
the dampness or the cold.
His body seemed so weak and frail;
it's worn and rather old.

But this was just a teddy bear.
How could I feel this way?
It made me think of Grandma's words;
"All things must pass away".

I feel a kind of loneliness
and kind of insecure;
my bear had brought me hours of joy,
so innocent and pure.

To give him up was very sad
and seemed a bit unfair.
Yet that's the way life had us part;
my friend, my love, my bear.

I hope that he'll remember me
when I am old and gray,
'cause I may need him once again
to help me through the day.