"C is for cookie ... that's good enough for me!"

Yes, it's true. These things do exist. You can even call 1-800-HEY-UGLY for more information – it says so on the back of the tag. I checked.

My older brother scanned my expressionless face for a glimpse of excitement or even reassurance, as he thrust a stuffed creature of some sort into my hands.

"It's an Ugly Doll!" he exclaimed.

At this point I was pretty sure we couldn’t be related because I'm not one to cuddle with or pimp out my bedroom in the theme of stuffed animals, let alone ugly ones.

My brother went on to explain that my particular monster, Wage, was “the loveable one, obsessed with food; namely cookies.”

When the question of ‘why’ inevitably came up, he said that Wage was unique, funny-looking and reminded him of our funny childhood memories.

Was an Ugly Doll some sort of reflection on me? I guess I could live with that, bar the “funny-looking” side note.

My brother's connection here comes from the very minor detail that I had a slight obsession with sugar as a child. So minor in fact, that I was nicknamed 'Cookie Monster'. So what if I had a healthy appetite for the sweet and decadent? Besides not having blue fur or googly eyes, it was a pretty accurate description.

I was not made this way. I am a product of the system. An experiment gone horribly wrong. As an infant my mom tried to "raise me right" and refrained from putting any sugar in my food - rookie mistake! When pre-school rolled around, her plan completely backfired. Preschool was great! There was always a hearty abundance of the sweet stuff, whether it was your birthday, a holiday or you just learned to count to 10!

Life wasn’t always rainbows and butterflies though. I had to learn some hard lessons thanks to my appreciation for the finer things. When I was four, I face-planted into my birthday cake. The one I was supposed to share with the other kids. This taught me that greed can quickly and literally land you in messy situations and that sharing is usually a better option.

The Christmas I was five, we were making homemade cookies (of course) and I distinctly remember my mom telling me to, “Go ahead!” and have that big piece of cookie dough. For an hour I had the worst stomach ache of life, but I'll never forget how important it is to take the time to listen carefully to others.

I know that if I can achieve anything if I work hard and put all of my energy towards a goal. Similar to the night that mom vetoed my explicit wishes to have cake for dessert. I presented a solid case with tears, whining and more tears until my parents surrendered for no other reason simply than to shut me up. Mission accomplished, threat neutralized, win-win situation.

To this day I still have Wage. He's my only ‘stuffed animal’ and I don't cuddle or fall asleep with him at my side. Yet he’s transitioned with me from the teenage years to some version of independent adulthood. So why do I still have him? Because despite everything, that Ugly Doll is a true symbol of memories and good times with my family. He manages to pull together a collection of silly childhood adventures, lessons, inside jokes and reminders of the last time we were all together and the next phone call.