What the??!!

A few years ago I was driving with my family down a long stretch of highway in New Mexico. Up ahead we noticed a pickup truck dragging a very large object behind it. As we got closer, we recognized that it was a large stuffed Barney the Dinosaur tied by a rope to the bumper of the truck. Apparently a Mom or Dad couldn’t take the children’s icon any longer. Maybe way too many episodes with the volume up too loud. Which brings me to this:

What’s up with “The Wiggles”?? Okay…so I’ve been living under a rock. I just found out recently who “The Wiggles” are, after a friend gave us a video tape for Honour, who absolutely LOVES it! To be honest, just the name “The Wiggles” was enough to creep me out a bit. This ain’t Sesame Street. What are these 4 Australian guys on anyway?!? The Wiggles are wacky.

Now my first instinct is to go into a 46 year old father’s rant about how “back in my day” they had REAL educational children’s television. Like Mr. Rogers and Captain Kangaroo. But wait…if I really think back to some of the shows I watched as a kid, they weren’t much better. In fact, some of them would make today’s shows look really good. Disclaimer: Remember… I grew up in the 60’s and early 70’s. Nothing else needs to be said. Let’s take a stroll down memory lane with some examples to prove my point.

Mr. Rogers: Did anyone else experience just a slight feeling of terror as “trolley” went through the tunnel, taking us into “The Neighborhood of Make Believe”? That was one freaky place, filled with puppets that later show up in your nightmares. (Yes, I have a deep-seated fear of puppets and clowns). No wonder. Remember Lady Elaine Fairchild?

She still makes me shudder.
.

Or what about HR Puff n Stuff??

Or Lidsville??!!

Maybe it was this guy who instilled the fear of clowns into me.

Or could it have been “Romper Room”, the show that first introduced the most demented toy ever invented for children… the “jack in the box”. This show was responsible for promoting the concept that scaring small children could be fun and entertaining. Not only did you have to deal with the crazy clown jumping out of a box to the tune of “Pop Goes the Weasel”, but something even scarier. At the end of every show, the Romper Room hostess gazed through her “Magic Mirror”, (an empty mirror frame), and recited the names of the “lucky” children whom she pretended to see watching the program from home (a different list of names each day). Either you were devastated at not hearing your name called, or scared to death that some lady on TV could see you just by looking through her “magic mirror.”

So...all of a sudden The Wiggles don’t seem so bad do they? In fact, I admit that they’ve been growing on me. It starts to happen ever so slowly. You get sucked in. You find yourself humming the songs at the office. Then it’s endless dancing with your kids to the bizarre but contagious songs. And finally you’re searching online for new episodes, because you can’t get enough and have to jump into the frolicking good time that these guys seem to be having.

Okay…I’M ADDICTED to the Wiggles!!??!!? Or maybe I’m just addicted to watching Honour dancing and twirling with unconstrained joy.

You can sometimes hear an expression used in Irish pubs when someone seems to be having an exceptionally good time. People will say; “I don’t know what he’s having, but I’ll have a pint of that!” Well, I don’t know what the Wiggles are having, but I’ll have a pint of that!! In fact, if it means I can have another dance with my little girl …then make it two!

Honour rocking to The Wiggles!

-Rob

Hide and seek

I love the classic childhood game of hide and seek. (We still love to play, especially in the house at night with the lights out). On the surface it seems like the fun part consists of finding such a great hiding spot, that you are the last one found. But when I really think back, there was actually nothing worse than hiding so well that people eventually gave up looking and just left you there. I remember times of being all curled up in my clever hiding place and secretly hoping and whispering under my breath “Don’t give up, keep looking…I’m right over here.”

When our son Tyler was just a little guy, he used to hide under his bed with half of his body sticking out so he could be found quickly. It was hilarious. We would walk into his room, pretending not to see him, and you would hear his muffled giggling from under the bed. He really wanted to be found.

Honour loves to play hide and seek. Actually she has changed the rules of the game. Instead of finding a clever enough place to hide so that she is the last one found; it’s more like she purposely hides in the most obvious place she can, so she can be found as quickly as possible. In fact, the game now consists of her throwing a blanket or shirt over herself (she makes sure that we see her “hide”), and then one of us asking loud enough for her to “overhear” us; “Where’s Honour?” “Has anyone seen Honour?” We never get the chance to actually try to look for her. We barely get the words out when she whips the blanket off, allowing herself to be discovered and shouts in a mix of Vietnamese and English; “Here I am!” Her smiles and laughter are priceless. It’s as if she cannot wait to be found. She seriously loves to play this game as often as possible. She LOVES being found…over and over and over again.

And now that I think of it…any of us who have experienced the joy of being found, can never get enough of it. In fact, the more we think about adopting our children, the more we realize that in so many beautiful ways, it is actually us who are being found.

I recently read a powerful post by one of our favorite bloggers, Ann at http://crazyforkids.blogspot.com/2009/02/its-not-fair.html . After reading her blog, I wonder if Honour likes to play hide and seek by her own rules, simply because she doesn’t want to wait to be found any more. She spent almost 4 years waiting. So, now she relishes the joy of as many “findings” as she can…as often as she can. And so do we.

-Rob

All that Jazz

I remember walking past an old jazz club in New Orleans one night. The music spilling out into the street was amazing. I walked into the club to find 4 musicians who looked like they were in their 90’s, eyes closed, smiles from ear to ear, and completely lost in the music they were creating. The room was electric, filled with the warmth and creativity that only 90 year old jazz musicians can bring.

This week we celebrated another kind of Jazz. A Jazz who also electrifies a room with joy when she walks into it, and brings a warmth and creativity that transforms those who are lucky enough to know her. And just like the music, she leaves you feeling so completely filled but always wanting more. Not only do we have the privilege of knowing one of the most joyful, nurturing, sensitive, affectionate, and absolutely beautiful human beings in the world; but we also have the astounding honor of calling her…daughter.

Happy birthday Jasmine!

Love,

Mom and Dad

-Rob