Blanket

By: Connor Lenahan

I have a question for you: What item in this world do you value over every other? If there was suddenly a fire to engulf your room, which happened to contain every single thing you own, what would you save if you could only choose one thing? The something in this galaxy that you cannot physically live without.

My answer is clear. It’s my baby blanket. The blanket, pictured above, was made for me by my great grandmother on my mom’s side. For the past twenty years I have slept with it beneath my head. For the past two decades it has been my constant. For as long as I have been on this Earth it has been with me. Fairly literally too.

Save for maybe 20 days in the last 15 years I have had my blanket beneath my head as I fall asleep. It comes with me on every trip. It has been to more states and more countries than a great deal of my friends. It has been with me through every challenge I have ever had to face. My blanket has been with me in every operating room I have ever entered. Just last spring, while getting my leg surgically repaired after breaking my shin, I clutched my blanket to my chest with my left arm while my right was being used to administer anesthesia.

I love this blanket more than almost anything. I happen to live a life that changes on the fly quite often. Sometimes for the good, like when a new job opportunity will arise out of nowhere, and sometimes for the bad, when a simple walk to math class transforms into two surgeries and months of healing/rehabilitation. Through it all I have something to fall back on. Every single night I know I can put my head down on my blanket and everything is okay. 20 years of safety is no joke.

I knew I wanted to write about my blanket at some point this year. It was a matter of when. I chose today, my 20th birthday, to honor something that has been a crucial part of my existence from the day I first took a breath on this planet.

It’s amazing that the blanket has survived to 20 in one piece. It’s a miracle that I have as well. Today was a terrific way to begin my life after being a teenager. That’s because of the wonderful family and friends and blanket I am blessed to have in my life.

Now it’s time to lie on that blanket for the 500,000th time and know that everything is alright.