I spent 10 minutes in the middle of the night recently perched on my daughters’ bunk bed searching the top bunk for Dolly.

Dolly is my daughter’s lovie — the thing she needs to sleep with every  night.

The fact is, my daughter is 11. And so is Dolly. The cloth doll is as flat as a pancake and so well loved that she’s not a pretty sight to behold. Even newly washed, Dolly’s face is stained black from years of kisses. But Maggie doesn’t care. Every night she hunkers down with Dolly tucked next to her face as she drifts off to sleep.

It’s not that Maggie can’t sleep without Dolly. We never did find the doll amidst the covers the other night and she was able to fall back to sleep, but she admitted it was weird. Even though she is firmly in her tween years, Dolly still brings Maggie comfort. When she’s sad or upset, she climbs into bed and finds Dolly. When she’s sick, she likes to have Dolly with her on the couch. When we travel, Dolly travels with us.

My other kids also have lovies. Adam, 9, has Buddy Bear whom he carries around the house with him much of the time and can NOT sleep without. Buddy is as worn as Dolly and even more needed. Lilly has Baby Bear whom she loves dearly but does not depend on. Jonah has Tie Tie and Floggy. Like Lilly, he loves them both but he doesn’t need them. Occasionally, I find them lying around the house long after he’s gone to bed.

I really didn’t mind digging around the bed the other night looking for Dolly. I know the time is drawing near that Dolly will take up residence on the shelf — no longer needed. And I’m not quite ready for that myself.