Please meet Iris, a cute Artist Teddy bear.

Please meet Iris, a cute Artist Teddy bear.   She has no tags, so I'm not sure who made her.   She is made of a brown tipped creamy mohair that's very wild and wavy.   There are two glass eyes under all that fur, although you'd be very hard-pressed to find them.  I believe she was made in the 1990s.  She has pellets in her tummy for stability.   She's a rather petite bear, being only ten inches to the top of her ears.   She takes good care of herself, and I think it shows.

Iris grew up in a very strict Midwestern home where everyone had their own defined roles and responsibilities.   Father bears went to work.   Mother bears stayed put and took care of the home and the cubs, as well as any extended family, like Grandpa bear or Grandma bear.   Brother bears were responsible for taking out the trash or mowing the lawn.   Sister bears would wash and dry the dishes and sometimes help with the sewing, and even Baby bears were expected to put their toys away at the end of the day.  Everyone had a job and they were all expected to do it well.   That was just the way it was.   On weekends, there would be Teddy bear gatherings, picnics and sing-a-longs and country dances.  It was a simple life.   Iris loved her upbringing and has many good memories, but she told me it all made her feel a little claustrophobic.   She appreciated what she learned from her parents and friends, and was happy to have been instilled with a sense of family, of purpose and with a good work ethic, but she didn't have a sense of freedom.

One summer morning when she was doing her daily power walk in the town park, she noticed a young professional bear she had never seen before.  They struck up a conversation, and he invited her to lunch.  Over fish and chips, he told her about his life in the city, his career, his friends, and his live-in girlfriend, how he ate pizza late at night, and sometimes slept till noon on weekends.   She was intrigued.   What would life be without a schedule?  What would happen if she left the Midwest behind, moved to the city, joined a Teddy girl band and played the guitar and wore cool sunglasses?   It got her thinking.

Eventually, after much thought, and against her family's wishes, Iris too moved to the city.   There she rented her first apartment with a roommate in a two-bedroom walk-up, launched a career in real estate, went to spin classes, indulged in tapas and wine at trendy restaurants, joined the local gym, hung out at the coffee shop with her laptop, attended gallery openings and went to movies late at night with her friends.  She never did learn how to the play guitar, nor had the opportunity  to join a Teddy girl band though.  Instead, as time passed, she found she missed that old simple life.

She's moved back to the Midwest.   There you'll find she's married a young professional bear who used to eat pizza late at night and sleep till noon on weekends, and sometimes still does.   She loved her experiences in the city and she has no regrets, but has settled into a slower-paced life and is very content.  But every once in a while, after a long power walk in the park, you just might see her playing air guitar and wearing cool sunglasses.