Mary Hansen

I have never been one for cute porcelain figurines, but apparently there was one that I couldn’t resist. I don’t remember if it was for a birthday or Christmas or even grandparent’s day, but I selected what is clearly a grandfather bunny and a granddaughter bunny sitting side by side as a gift for my grandfather.

He used to keep it on his dresser amidst the other things I couldn’t really see, since I was too short to have a clear view. And I really didn’t care about the other things up there, I just loved knowing he had something I gave him somewhere he would see it everyday. It made me feel special since I was pretty sure neither my sisters nor cousins had given him anything that lived on his dresser.

Every time I went to my grandparents’ house, I would check his dresser to see if it was still there. Sometimes his wedding ring was hooked on the bunny ears, perhaps that is the real reason it stayed on his dresser, but I like to think not.

My grandfather was not a talker or emotive in anyway, but I knew that he loved me. Those bunny figurines felt like a secret bond we shared. It stayed on his dresser until he and my grandmother moved out of their home into assisted living. I am not sure what happened to it in the aftermath of their deaths and selling the house, but I do remember the joy of being special.