Is it weird I sleep with an old blanket I've had since I was a young girl?
from ILoveDurians@lemmy.cafe to nostupidquestions@lemmy.world on 16 Jun 04:45
https://lemmy.cafe/post/18883072

I’ve had this old blanket since I was 11. I don’t wanna say my exact age but let’s say it’s been over a decade. When I moved homes, I just had to have my blanket and old pillowcase. When I moved homes my mom threw away my old blanket and I was really upset and my mom just about got it back before it got disposed of for good and I was so happy that my blanket was “saved”.

The blanket’s so old it has holes in it and a few years ago I found out the exact same blanket is still being sold and I bought a new one which looks nothing like my old one because it’s…well, new, but I’m still using the old one and the new one is still in its packaging. I almost feel like it’s a friend? Almost? And by sleeping with another blanket I’m betraying it or something. I just feel immediately comforted by the blanket even though there’s nothing objectively comforting about it (it’s not a weighted blanket and is so worn down it’s not very insulating).

I don’t know. I feel some weird emotional connection to that blanket? Does anyone else feel something similar or can relate?

#nostupidquestions

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PurpleGameBoy@lemmy.zip on 16 Jun 05:02 next collapse

I don’t think it’s weird at all.

intelisense@lemm.ee on 16 Jun 05:04 next collapse

I’m a 50-something man, and i still have the Maxine und Moritz cushion from when I was a toddler. Well, technically, it’s a different pillow as the original is extremely tatty now.

knightmare1147@lemmy.world on 16 Jun 05:06 next collapse

If it brings you comfort, it’s not weird.

hperrin@lemmy.ca on 16 Jun 05:10 next collapse

That’s not weird in the sense that it’s unusual, because that’s so usual we have a term for it. And it’s really only weird if you consider it weird. There’s nothing wrong with finding comfort in a familiar object.

I personally have a Game Boy Color my dad gave to me when I was recovering from surgery when I was 11. I keep it on my TV stand. I was incredibly distraught when I pulled it out of storage and the batteries in it had leaked all over the circuit board, damaging the board beyond repair. My dad actually got me another one on eBay that I harvested the circuit board from to replace mine. I don’t play it, but knowing that it now works and I could play it if I wanted to gives me comfort. I even put the old board in the other Game Boy just so I know that I still have all of the original parts.

I think it’s probably something most of us do, and I don’t think you should feel any shame in it.

db2@lemmy.world on 16 Jun 05:16 next collapse

Only if you’re still sucking your thumb. Not joking, I’ve seen supposed adults do that like it’s not a sign of pretty severe problems.

Donjuanme@lemmy.world on 16 Jun 05:57 next collapse

I’m closer to 40 than 35, and my wife recently gave up ever replacing “college blanket”, which was actually bought for me in early high school after I asked if I could take my grandparents comforter home with me. They found one and got it for me that Christmas (I think it was Ross/home goods), it was probably the most generic comforter ever, I always thought I’d be able to find another when needed. After 2 cats, a dog and the better part of 2 decades, my wife decided it was time to let it go and get a replacement, no problem, it’s the most generic comforter ever. She gets me a nice duvet, so we can keep the inside nice and replace the outside as needed, nope definitely not the same. She gets a comforter, it’s stitched way too tightly, and doesn’t breathe the same (okay maybe a 20 year old blanket has gained a bit of aeration, maybe it breathes better than it did when it was new, but you can definitely tell the padding is stitched much more tightly than college blanket’s ever was), she got me a “cooling” comforter, it’s decent, but paired best with college blanket, and when I only have 1 blanket 9 times out of 10 it’s college blanket.

Now college blanket has had 5 cats and 3 dogs and the majority of my life, it’s been the bed of desire for multiple animals, myself included, and my wife sometimes asks for it when she’s sick. Apparently it’s really scratchy, and holey, and it’s closely missing about 20% of it’s original fluff, and I would put it away in a place of honor in a heartbeat if I could find a new one. I swear it was 40 dollars at a home goods store, in a pile with a hundred others just like it, but we’ve looked for the better part of a decade now, and it’s been deemed irreplaceable. It would probably be the first material thing I went for if we had to evacuate. I’m not highly sentimental, but you don’t let a good blanket go.

Aielman15@lemmy.world on 16 Jun 06:23 next collapse

I don’t think it’s weird. It’s just an item from your childhood that you’re attached to for emotional reasons. A lot of people have one of these - be it a blanket, a plushie, a toy, a videogame, a necklace or some other piece of jewellery, etc…

They might remind you of your childhood, or maybe of the person who gifted it to you or someone else whom you knew at the time. I don’t see anything wrong with having attachment to your memories.

When I was 5, my parents gifted me an owl-shaped cushion. That same cushion is still on my bed over 20 years later. Looking at it brings back memories of my childhood, and it has this soft, short “fur” which reminds me of the dog I had back then, whom I miss very dearly. Touching makes me feel like my dog is still with me somehow :)

RvTV95XBeo@sh.itjust.works on 16 Jun 06:29 next collapse

Nah, totally normal, my dog came with one too when he was a puppy. Was supposed to smell like his Mom to help him settle in a new home.

If it helps you not pee in your crate I say you keep it.

datavoid@lemmy.ml on 16 Jun 13:19 collapse

I can’t tell if this was supposed to be mean or comforting… all I know is it’s fucking hilarious

Etterra@discuss.online on 16 Jun 06:45 next collapse

Nope. It’s normal to get attached to things. My fiance (37f) has all kinds of stuff from her childhood that she still uses, even if only occasionally. Blanket, shirts, Xmas ornaments, the list goes on. For her, in her own words, the attachment is to the memories associated with the things, like Xmas or a school club or college. She’s got a lot of things, not just over blanket, but it’s the same principle. Perfectly reasonable and normal.

Lumidaub@feddit.org on 16 Jun 07:41 next collapse

Does it hurt you or anyone? No? Carry on.

southsamurai@sh.itjust.works on 16 Jun 08:25 next collapse

Only reason I don’t sleep with my equivalent is that I’ve already had to fix it five times.

The blanket that was my childhood blanket is so fragile it’s not even possible to mend it.

But the pillow my grandmother made for me, that sucker was made of polyester scraps. Which, for all that’s bad about polyester, the stuff lasts. So, over forty years later, I’ve replaced the filling three times, and resewn it fully twice, plus one partial resew. I tend to replace the filling any time I do a major repair, but there’s been three times I needed to specifically refill it.

Back when she made it, it was filled with that loose polyfill stuff. I’ve swapped between cotton, polyfill, shredded foam, and shredded memory foam.

I don’t sleep with it any more, like I said. But it’s right here beside me.

I had even specified being buried with it, but swapped to wanting cremation, and that’s not going to work with the pillow.

Texas_Hangover@sh.itjust.works on 16 Jun 14:17 collapse

Sure it will! Pillows incinerate just fine. If the crematorium has some dumbasses rule prohibiting pillows, just have somebody burn it themselves and mix it with your ashes.

leraje@lemmy.blahaj.zone on 16 Jun 09:34 next collapse

Hi, no, do what you want.

LovableSidekick@lemmy.world on 16 Jun 09:56 next collapse

I don’t think it’s weird at all. Being attached to physical objects is a totally normal part of being human. The comfort of familiarity is natural and nothing to be worried about. The personal example I can think of right away is that when a wallet wears out and I transfer my driver’s license etc to a new one, I’m aware of the same feeling of attachment. Throwing out the old one feels like a small betrayal. I think feelings like that are completely natural. In fact my childhood cuddle toy - a stuffed dog named “Poody” is still up on a bookshelf over my desk. I hardly ever think about him but he’s always up there, kind of watching over me.

fjordo@feddit.uk on 16 Jun 09:58 next collapse

I sleep with a stuffed animal I’ve had since I was a kid. I don’t think it’s that unusual.

Venus_Ziegenfalle@feddit.org on 16 Jun 10:02 next collapse

My stepmother is in her mid 40s and does exactly the same thing. Also a disgusting looking blanket from her childhood that she even takes with her on holidays. I mean we do stir her up for it (sometimes she “wears” it to sleep like bandages covering her entire head which looks hilarious) but I’d say it’s weird in a wholesome way. Most people have some of those little quirks.

onion_trial@europe.pub on 16 Jun 10:13 next collapse

Every person builds up an emotional connection to objects, that’s totally normal. Especially, when a person owns the object.

This is sometimes mindfully and intentionally done in minimalist lifestyles. It is supposed to promote more fulfilling interactions with ones possessions which can lack in maximalist lifestyles. Caring, washing and repairing become important then.

RecallMadness@lemmy.nz on 16 Jun 10:33 next collapse

I have a 25 year old cereal bowl and spoon. I’ve lived in maybe 15 houses across 4 countries in this time.

They used to have twins, but they were lost to the horrors of flatmates.

I don’t eat cereal any more, and haven’t for maybe 10 years. But I’ve got it. I have no idea why I keep it. But I do.

caseyweederman@lemmy.ca on 16 Jun 23:23 next collapse

You made me almost remember the bowl and spoon I ate out of when I was too young to fully form memories
It’s gone again
I had just a faint taste of how it felt in my hand

Rai@lemmy.dbzer0.com on 17 Jun 01:18 collapse

My mug is turning 20. I got it as a “tip” when I worked my first job. I didn’t drink coffee or tea back then. I love my mug.

aeternum@lemmy.blahaj.zone on 16 Jun 10:40 next collapse

nope. I have plushies from when i was a young lad that I sleep with. I will NEVER give up Ellie and Lionel.

bigb@lemmy.world on 16 Jun 12:13 next collapse

I’ve kept a blanket for 20 years. I remember when I bought it at a department store with my mom before I went off to college. It’s the perfect thickness and texture for me to sleep with. The nostalgia is an added bonus for a really comfortable blanket.

LogicalDrivel@sopuli.xyz on 16 Jun 12:46 next collapse

I have a stuffed dog that Ive kept since i was a baby. Im middle aged now and that dog is still with me. Its not in bed with me anymore because i want to keep it preserved but it still brings me comfort when I need it.

HobbitFoot@thelemmy.club on 16 Jun 14:18 next collapse

No.

Feathercrown@lemmy.world on 16 Jun 14:26 next collapse

Yes

T156@lemmy.world on 16 Jun 14:28 next collapse

Does it matter if it is weird? Everyone is weird in some way.

There’s no weirdness warden who will whack you into gaol for being weird.

Pulptastic@midwest.social on 17 Jun 11:55 collapse

“Gowl”

charade_you_are@sh.itjust.works on 16 Jun 15:04 next collapse

I still use a 20+ year old blanket that I’ve had since I was however many years old. Don’t know if it’s weird or not, I just wanted to say that to someone.

phoenixz@lemmy.ca on 16 Jun 19:43 next collapse

I still got my first teddybear from when I was a baby. Mind you, I’m a big guy, tough guy. I don’t sleep with it, it’ll fall apart at any movement, but whenever I go (permanently), it goes. If my house catches fire, I’ll rescue the bear, anything else can burn to the ground, it’s all replaceable.

I don’t think it’s weird, I find it endearing and it makes you human.

crimsonpoodle@pawb.social on 16 Jun 20:05 next collapse

People make connections with objects, same reason why people start hating certain art pieces when they’re told they were made by hitler. It’s perfectly normal— also good for the environment.

HakunaHafada@lemm.ee on 16 Jun 20:10 next collapse

Not weird.

Perhaps atypical, maybe unusual, but neither of those things are inherently bad.

DaPorkchop_@lemmy.ml on 16 Jun 20:35 next collapse

I have a blanket I’ve slept with every day since I was barely a month old (am 23 now), wouldn’t trade it for anything. I can definitely relate :)

mic_check_one_two@lemmy.dbzer0.com on 16 Jun 22:13 next collapse

My wife is in her 30’s, and she sleeps with a pillow and stuffed animal that she has had since she was 3 or 4.

swordgeek@lemmy.ca on 17 Jun 02:10 next collapse

It’s unusual.

It is absolutely NOT weird. If anything, it makes you more human.

SaneMartigan@aussie.zone on 17 Jun 04:20 next collapse

I’m in my 40s and daily a spoon I was given around my birth.

Pulptastic@midwest.social on 17 Jun 11:57 next collapse

I have USB cables twice as old as your blanket, probably even some I’ve never used.

Mediocre_Bard@lemmy.world on 18 Jun 18:44 next collapse

No. That’s fine.

TheFANUM@lemmy.world on 21 Jun 18:48 collapse

Not my thing but I’ve dated fully functional adult women with similar items

Life is a crazy, scary ride. If it doesn’t hurt people, do what brings you joy