The B&B Bear

I haven't always lived at this Bed & Breakfast. Once upon a time, I traveled with a young child, rarely leaving their side. A beloved teddy bear to keep them company, both at home and away. I came here with them on a vacation ten years ago, but unfortunately, I didn't leave with them. Left behind on one of the tea tables on the porch, I was found by one of the housekeepers hours after my child friend had left.

Lucy -- the Bed & Breakfast's owner-- took me into her cust0dy. For the first several months of my tenancy here, she would try to track down the family that had forgotten me. I began to appear on the Bed & Breakfast's Facebook and Instagram pages, asking if anyone knew who I belonged to and could get me home.

No one ever gave them an answer.

I was sad, at first. I missed my friend terribly and was heartbroken by the way they seemed to have abandoned me. I was also scared. What would happen to me when no one ever claimed me?

The answer, it turned out, was that I would be adopted by Lucy. And not just her, but every member of her staff and every guest of the Bed & Breakfast.

I became both mascot and regular employee of the month. I continued to pose for social media pictures all over the property and doing just about every job. Helping Lucy check in guests, traveling on the housekeeper's cart, sampling new menu items from the kitchen -- I truly did it all! Honestly, I've become a bit famous since I've been here.

When I'm not helping to keep the Bed & Breakfast running, I live on the mantle above the lobby fireplace. When it became clear I wasn't leaving, Lucy set up a little bed and chair there for me. Since then, it has become filled with more pieces of tiny furniture, outfits, and trinkets left for me by staff and guests alike. I've watched so many people come and go through our door from up there: families, honeymooning couples, writers and artists looking for a quiet and picturesque place to work, new staff starting their first shifts, old staff moving on to new adventures, and of course our regulars! The people who return to see us every year, and always stop to say hello to me and leave me a new present. Maybe I shouldn't have favourites, but I love these old friends the best of all the people that come to see us.

It's been ten years now since the Bed & Breakfast became my home, and I never thought I'd be leaving it. But alas, all good things must come to an end. Lucy has been running this place for much longer than I have been here, and she announced a few months ago that this will be our last year in operation. She's ready to retire, which I guess means I'll be retiring too. Lucy already assured me that she plans to move me to the mantle in her own home when we close up after our final season, and I'm glad I won't be getting left behind again. But, it is still a little sad. I'll miss all the work and all the people all my old friends and all the new ones I won't meet now.

I've been very loved and I've made so many people happy in my years here. It's been a good life for a lost little bear.