The Teddy Bear

In Liberia, any stuffed animal is called a teddy bear. While we would give these to children to play with, the average Liberian seems to think they make great decorations for their house. My fiancee and I both agreed that having stuffed animals around the house does not count as decorating, and that we were not going to employ them in our interior design scheme. Needless to say, I was surprised when, the first day she moved into our house, she immediately hung some kind of animal on our living room wall. I walked through the door and saw it hanging there.
"Baby, I thought we weren't going to decorate with teddy bears."
"Well, we don't have any decoration for the wall."
"Right, but we agreed that they are not decorations."
"Well, you haven't bought anything, so I had to put it up."
I think we have a different definition of what "had to put it up" means. I believe she had a choice whether or not to put it on the wall.

Now there are picture frames and a large plastic Jesus scotch taped on the wall, and yet the teddy bear remains. It is a reminder of how I have failed her by not immediately decorating the entire house. I think I am going to hide it and see if she notices. Look for the update soon.