When Love Arrives in Plush!

Please don’t judge me for this! I know this is not what you want to read now. But I had to write about it because  it’s all what I’m thinking about… even when I suddenly wake up at 3 am and lay awake. 

I’m definitely not alone, at least 25% of the world population is thinking about him too. You know who I’m talking about… of course it’s “Punch”.

I’m an empath and I hate this fact because I have a million problems of my own, but I still absorb pain from others, even strangers I read about and think deeply about it.

This is the kind of story my soul instantly recognizes. It speaks my language. And now I’m obsessed with it!

Whenever I read a story or watch a video about a mother and child, even if they’re about animals, it tugs my heart. 

This is a quote from the book “Women who run with the wolves”;

“When we are connected to the instinctual self, to the soul of the feminine which is natural and wild, then instead of looking over whatever happens to be on display, we say to ourselves, "what am I hungry for?” Maybe this is why these stories come to me.

Last year when I was reading this book, I was aghast with what was written in the book. That mother wolves reject or abandon their weakest child! I told my husband about this and he wasn’t surprised at all. He told me that all animals do this. They do this to protect the rest of the litter. A weakling can endanger other pups as well, that’s why a she- wolf abandons her weakest pup.

Knowing this, I wasn’t surprised that Punch’s mom rejected him. But a child is a child, it would just perceive that his/her mother doesn’t like him. This is why Punch was inconsolable and was growing scared as each day passed. Consecutively, the other monkeys started bullying him. 

This happens to humans as well, right?

As a mother of a child with special needs, I always fear for his safety. He’s physically weak and hence susceptible to being picked upon. He loves to befriend children of his age group, but they generally don’t like it because he doesn’t necessarily match their intellect or doesn’t have much to contribute to their discussions. And so, I worry, what if he wants to be a part of their group, but they perceive him to be nosy and hurt him. He doesn’t understand why these children don’t like him. Again, he’s just a child and thinks he is not good enough for them. Whenever this happens, he comes running to his father or me. So I lay awake worrying who will support Punch? Who will the poor baby run to when he is scared and needs comfort? And then he gets the orange plush. That “oran-mama” (as what the internet named it), is giving him what any baby, be it human or animal needs: Security. Regulation. Connection. 

The toy doesn’t replace a mother…  It gives Punch enough stability and confidence to eventually form healthier attachments with other monkeys. And suddenly Punch starts making friends. This shows how important the presence of a parent is to a child in its upbringing and emotional regulation.

And then the universe steps in and a real mom-monkey steps in to protect him. As though showing that no child suffers alone, they will eventually find someone at the right time.

When my son was in the NICU, a handful of families decided to not keep the baby and pull the plug. No judgement there at all. They did what was right for their family. Similarly, although my heart goes out to Punch, I cannot blame Punch’s mom. Maybe she did this to protect her family, maybe she thought losing one child is better than losing all her babies.

Maybe Oran-mama is just fabric and stuffing to the world.

But to Punch, she is warmth in the absence of arms. She is something to hold when there is no heartbeat to lean into. She is proof that even when nature falters, nurture finds a way.

And perhaps that’s why this story stays with us.

Because somewhere deep inside, we all understand what it means to reach for comfort when life feels too big. We all have , or have had, our own version of an Oran-mama. Something that steadied us when we were too small, too shaken, too alone.

Punch may one day outgrow the orange plush toy. But what it gave him safety, softness, survival… will stay woven into him.

And maybe that’s the quiet miracle here:

Love doesn’t always arrive the way it’s meant to. Sometimes, it arrives stitched in orange.

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#Punch #PunchTheMonkey #HangInTherePunch #IchikawaZoo