The Ceramic Teddy Bear

My son will be twenty-one years of age later this month. As a mother, this is a monumental milestone for I have witnessed my firstborn son grow into a man. I realize that many have done this very thing, somehow losing its sense of uniqueness. However, I cannot help but wonder where has the time gone. I mean, really; one minute ago he was holding my hand. Now he is holding someone else's hand.
Since the time of his birth, I have had a ceramic teddy bear hook with me. First, it appeared in his baby room as a decorative piece. Later, as I divorced his father, the teddy bear became a remembrance of a time gone by, of days when even though disagreements appeared more frequently than I wished they would, there remained a symblance of hope that the marriage would work. I placed it on a hook in my bathroom, upon arriving in my new home.
It was a Saturday morning, not unlike other Saturday mornings. I was in the shower preparing for the day, when my friend with whom I share the house stepped into the bathroom to retrieve something from the dryer - also situated in my bathroom.
I suddenly heard a loud crash and then silence. I peeked from behind the shower curtain to see my friend leaning over the shattered pieces of the teddy bear. Feelings within raged inside of me, and I immediately began to sob uncontrollably. I don't know what came over me, but I was surprised of the enormity of emotions all wrapped up into that one ceramic teddy bear. I felt bad for my friend, for I knew that it was merely an accident. You could tell by her expression that she felt terrible for breaking the bear. I tried to comfort her amid my tear drops, but words would not come.
I reentered the safety of my shower enclosure and wept uncontrollably. I knew that the bear was gone and there was no recovering him from the ashes. All that he represented was lost forever - or at least that is what I thought.
Time has passed now and the two hooks that once held the bear still remain on my bathroom wall. I eventually quit crying that day and was able to verbally extend my forgiveness to my friend. However, the little teddy bear will always have a place in my memory reminding me of my little boy, my broken marriage, and a time gone by.