The unknown journey of Cody

I always knew that this day was coming. I could feel it in my gut. I knew that I couldn't stay here forever. My job of being a leader and president of us stuffed animals is over. So, I decided to what I thought was right for our people by retiring to Paris, France. I know that it was a hard decision and I didn't want to do this. I hated to leave everything and everyone that I know and love behind, but I didn't have a choice or option. I'm not as young as I used to be. At least, not anymore. I can't keep doing this job of being leader and president of us, stuffed animals for the rest of my life. Why, I remember the first time I came into this family around the time Roberta was born on September 1st, 1987. I met many of the stuffed animals there at the time including the leader and president of our people, Bingo, who is a boy bear and a hand puppet. He was such a great guy and a wonderful leader and president of our people and junk. He taught me everything that I needed to know about being the best leader and president of our people for many years until his voice box stopped working. I think it was around during the 1990s. But I don't remember. My memory’s a little fuzzy on the details. 

All I do know is after Bingo’s voice box stopped working, he passed this responsibility down to me. And after he retired and moved to Mexico, I stayed here for as long as I could. Because I'm not only just Roberta’s stuffed animal, I am a boy lamb with black eyes, a white nose, and a very long, thick white ribbon around my neck that goes down between my legs. I was given the name Cody by our owner right after one of the characters in the famous and popular book, The Wanderer. And since then, I have watched Roberta grow up into a mature woman. I was so happy for her. I'm still her favorite even after all these years. And nothing has ever changed between us. The sad part about it is, well, we can't spend any quality time together like we used to do many years ago when we were young. We had a lot of fun together and shared so many memories and junk. However, that all changed when we got older and we soon both realized that we were getting too old for each other. But we still love each other regardless. And with times changing, it's time that I moved on to my next adventure. I remember the day I decided to retire and move to Paris, France. It was October 2nd, 2004 just before Halloween when our owner turned 17. Bertha begged me to reconsider, but I refused. I told her, I know that you don't like this. And I can't say that I blame you. I don't like it any more than you do. I wish I could stay. But I can't. So, I had to pick someone else who will take over for me as the new leader and president of our people. And guess who I chose? I chose Holly.

I would've chosen my older brother, Carlos, but he's way too busy working as a police officer with my cousin, Jeffrey, and my dear friend, Clowny. As for my lifelong partner, Serena, she and her younger sister, Maria, and our friends, Selena, Bertha, and Wendy are writing their own story on our owner’s iPhone 8 called, Silence Isn't Always Golden: The Roberta Michelle Henley Movie. It's like a combined mixture of both the famous and popular book, War Horse, and the famous and popular Walt Disney and Pixar movie, Inside Out, where it's a story about the voices inside our heads. You can say that it's like an autobiography about our owner except for the fact that Serena and her younger sister, Maria, and our friends, Selena, Bertha, and Wendy are the ones telling the tale. I know that I could've chosen any other stuffed animal in the world, but that would've taken me forever just to find the right one.

And I don't have time for this. So, I chose Holly. And I taught her everything that she needs to know about how to be the best leader and president of our people ever from 2004 to 2016 when our owner turned 29 after the tragic death of her mother in March. When it was time for me to go to the airport in 2017, I remember I said goodbye to everyone for the last time. I told them that everything would be okay. And there was no reason to be upset. I even decided to leave Roberta one last message. My dear, sweet owner, I can't thank you enough for everything. You've given me a good home and plenty of good friends and whatnot. I want you to know that no matter what happens to me, I will always be with you wherever you go. I want you to always remember, I know it's hard to be happy all day long. And I hate saying goodbye, but I must go. I promise I won't forget you. Don't forget, I will always love you forever. Now, it's been 4 years since I left. And boy, I didn't even realize how tough it was going to be enjoying my retirement now because of the pandemic. I can't go back because of the lockdown. And to be frankly honest, I don't like this at all. Neither does Bingo. Bingo says that he's ready to go back home. From what I have heard, he's making arrangements to head back home as soon as possible. As for me, well, sometimes, I wonder if I made the right decision to come here to Paris, France. Because this is our owner’s favorite country. And I want her to be able to see it one day. I don't know when that will be. It could be anybody's guess for all I know. But I hope that it will be soon. I want to see her again badly and this goes for my other friends and junk too. I miss them every single day. My only wish that we will one day be together again.