The most important person in Charlie’s life is her Pepto Bismol pink penguin, “Kenga.” For those of you who are regular blog readers, I’m sure you’ve seen her: Pink feet sticking out from the dentist’s chair; Sharing a place at the dining room table; Wings flying through the air on a Sunday morning.

We’ve been having a major discussion in our household this week: Could Kenga survive a trip through the wash? To say that the penguin is “weathered” is a great understatement. I can appreciate her current state (I’m not heartless!), but when pieces of (what I like to call) Emergency Costco Lollipop got stuck in her fur, I knew it was time for an intervention.

Fast forward to Mother’s Day and our decision to hit the Shedd for one last weekend family day before both Charlie and Ella head off to Texas. The very first time Charlie laid eyes on Kenga at the Shedd Aquarium gift shop, I knew it was love at first sight. She was 18 months old at the time and had yet to attach herself to a “lovie.” Since that time, Kenga has become the most important “person” in her young life.

You might ask what would happen if some tragedy befell our dear Kenga? Well, the last chance I had to buy a back-up Kenga, I decided to pass — thinking that Charlie’s interest in Kenga would run its course. Needless to say, Charlie now takes that stuffed animal everywhere she goes — and to my great dismay, the Shedd has now replaced all those Kengas with updated ones that have more cartoonish faces and longer wings. Plan foiled. I walked around yesterday with a pang in my stomach, wondering how we would survive a loss so great. After taking a spin with Charlie in the gift shop, new Kenga (NK) came home with us — we’re going to keep her for emergencies.

The good news is that I snaked old Kenga (OK) out of Charlie’s crib for a quick spin through the gentle cycle, and am happy to report that a certain penguin still has all of her flippers and toes.

I guess for now I will just have to rest in the knowledge that “OK” is no longer sticky from lollipop juice. And if we do have a need for “NK,” she is waiting, willing and able.