As I was searching for a photo a few weeks back, I found the picture below which recalled an almost 10 year old blog post about comfort objects. In 2016, my daughter went to day camp for a few weeks in July and along with the list of do's and dont's was this permission: "your child may bring 1 comfort object (a lovey).".

Regardless of our age, comfort objects serve an important purpose: they remind us of what is safe and familiar in uncertain situations. Being able to generate feelings of safety can be especially important for trauma survivors who can be re-triggered at vulnerable times. Comfort objects can help with this. But what are those comfort objects for us as adults? Perhaps like me, you have an ancient stuffed bear at home. To me, Tah is as precious as gold but I don't carry him around! (Although he is with me here in Berlin!) Comfort objects for adults tend to be more discreet. A comfort object could be a certain piece of jewelry, a family heirloom like a watch or a ring or even a special notebook with one of your child's drawings in it. I wear my mothers very modest wedding band between my my own and my engagement ring. Books (who knew?!) are often my go-to comfort objects. I have been carrying Eula Biss' Having and Being Had with me recently as I work on a future Substack essay. And you better believe it, along with 15 other books, was shipped here for our year away.

What about you? Tell me about your comfort object.