I find them extremely helpful. It lets me know that I'm cared about. I hold onto them when I miss her, and I repeat all the reassuring things she's said to me. And if she ever leaves me, I have a part of her that I get to keep.

I was raised with transitional objects. Instead of love from my parents, we had stuffed animals. We got to check out one stuffed animal every night before bed. In the morning, we had to return it. (These were mu parents' stuffed animals; not ours). So stuffed animals have always represented a part of that person.