Kicking the Elmo Habit
Winters in Minnesota really test a person's mental and physical stamina. The season is long, dark, cold and dreary. Every year seems to bring with it a new level of difficulty. Surviving winter year after year in these parts is much like running a marathon a second time, or perhaps, I imagine, the birth of your second or third child. You forget how bloody awful it is until you are right back in the middle of it again, wondering what the Hell you were thinking, doing this again, when you knew full well how bad it really was. What is it about the human mind that allows memories of physical pain to dissipate with time? I suppose the capacity to forget soul-crushing pain is built into our DNA as a way to perpetuate the species. If we had total recall of the pain of childbirth, the world would be full of only children. Further evidence of this phenomenon: I still live in Minnesota. Each year around this time of year, I think to myself "what kind of idiot CHOOSES to live here?" Winter lasts from November to April. Six months of brain rotting winter. Each year I stay, I am again brought face to face with my own stupidity.
Saturday, Jim and I faced another morning in the deep-freeze. We decided to try to find an alternative to our fall-back: playing Sesame Street in an ongoing loop. Just kidding. Okay..actually, I am not kidding at all. Our daughter has watched more Sesame Street this winter than I care to admit to. If our neighbors could see into our Family room window, they would have likely called Social Services in for a home visit on the grounds of gross Public Television abuse. It was time to get off Elmo. We decided it was time to visit the Sesame Street Methadone Clinic. Otherwise known as the local indoor park.
This park has all sorts of crazy interactive devices on which to slide and climb and swing. And it only costs four dollars! Activity had become a foreign concept to all of us. The three of us sat and gaped for a while, waiting for some kind of a theme song to start. Nothing happened. Big Bird never appeared. Neither did Elmo. Slowly we grasped the concept. This is a place of MOTION ! INTERACTIVE PLAY! EUREKA!
Off we went, climbing and shrieking and sliding our heads off. It was a lovely change of pace to have a chance to blow off some steam.
It was not until I put Maggie to bed at 7:45 that I realized we had gone all day without a single moment of Sesame Street. And as far as I could tell, we had no lasting painful withdrawal symptoms. Mind you, we have lived five minutes away from this indoor park all winter long and until this weekend, failed to visit. We will be back before the spring thaw, I can guarantee it. But it's nice to know we can kick the Sesame Street habit if we really need to.
I hope that by about July, we will actually look forward to the occasional rainy day so that we have an excuse to turn on the boob tube and get reacquainted with our old friends Elmo and Big Bird. Until then, I will make a point of leaving the house every once in a while to get our share of climbing and jumping in. Our quota of sitting and watching is easily filled these days. Ideas for other things are priceless thins time of year.
Comments
Of course we have those moments in Texas, to quite the opposite extreme. In Texas, we only have three seasons: Hot, Hotter and Hottern' Hell.
I often get questions about my three daughters, but normally get reactions when I explain how close in age they actually are. "You must be so BUSY!" is usually the reaction I get. I respond by saying, "Well, see, I was busy with my first daughter. Then I looked at my husband and said, "Heck! Why don't we have a couple more kids just like this one?!"
Posted by: Erin | February 28, 2006 9:15 PM
Good for you for doing this. You did it with one child? I wish I could with all three of my boys, but I think I'd come out of it brain fried. Maybe if I laid down some ground rules first, stuck to them...
Posted by: Karin | March 1, 2006 11:59 AM
You wrote what I am feeling. I am moving back to Wisconsin after being gone for 21 years and I am worried about what the winters will do to me... (both mentally and physically) Maybe we can be web friends and get each other thru the misery of it all. I am leaving St. Louis in 2 weeks and heading north for good. We have been in the move process for 3 months and it's finally coming to an end. Please find me at:
www.seasidedreamer.blogspot.com I hope to hear from you soon.
Posted by: Beth | March 1, 2006 7:59 PM
I passed through Minn for a while on my way to Sioux Falls, SD. It was like going from the Freezer to cryogenically frozen, and I had the same question in my head, "What the heck makes people STAY here?" Of course people formerly from New Jersey, who are now down in Florida pick on me in the same fashion.
We are fotunate to have some various types of interesting places (childrens museums, indoor parks, etc) to keep us busy during the cold and rainy days, and we have taken full advantage of them this year, but in years past, we also fell into "Disney Channel Hell"
Posted by: Latte Man | March 2, 2006 8:00 AM
I've been feeling that way about Noggin for my 3yr old but at least they don't have commercials right? (right) oh bother. lol
Thankfully she is always welcome to leave the house and any chance to see animals really gets her goin! hehe
Still though.. i'm Praying for Spring to get her quick.
Posted by: Sassy | March 2, 2006 8:49 AM
I think every child has their own favorite characters on TV (Dora and Diego 'round here) and there's nothing wrong with them watching them unless it's all day of course. I do daycare and I actually have a mom who brings me videos to play for her 3 yr old all day. She has no problems with it and she's a teacher!?!? I never do I can't believe she would think I would do it! LOL Hope it warms up there soon! I know here we usually have 4 cold months in KS but it's been so warm this winter, we've only had snow once.
Posted by: Sabrina | March 2, 2006 1:45 PM
Here you - the little angel didn't used to care at all about Elmo or really anyone. Since she turned 18 months, that's been different. Now, at almost two, she could easily become an Elmo addict.
We often abuse indoor play areas at malls or go to Target just for the sheer joy of walking all over the entire store three times pointing out the color of underwear for yucks.
Posted by: Dorothy | March 2, 2006 4:01 PM
Winters are brutal but it makes the springtime oh so sweet. Like childbirth, you do forget the bad and remember the good. Isn't it a blessing it works that way????
Hattie @ Motherpie.com :)
Posted by: H.A. Page | March 2, 2006 6:08 PM
Meghan, what a surprise it was to begin reading a post about Elmo to find an explanation of pain-forgetfulness based on Evolutionary Psychology. Bravo!
You'd be receiving a "Recognition of Science Award" from Agnostic Mom if I were issuing them. I'm not issuing them, though, so for now, you get an enthusiastic "Bravo!"
Posted by: noell | March 2, 2006 6:36 PM
We lived in Germany for several years with our 3 children (born within 3.5 years. Seemed like a good idea at the time).
NOt only was it dark and snowing all the time, but NO ONE in Germany has three children. So every time I took them out in public, I was treated like a freak show.
That's when we discovered INDOOR WATERPARKS! Which Minnesota has. Minnesota has fantastic indoor water parks. (Do a search for them on google.) Nothing gets you moving in the winter like a weekend at an indoor water park. They're terrifically child friendly and if you watch the sites, you can occasionally snag a bargain -- and can also get last minute deals. Do yourself a favor and go to one as soon as possible. I know what I'm talking about!
Posted by: Other Mom | March 3, 2006 6:54 AM
Meghan, we resorted to the same activity for Tacy back east. And ditto Other Mom re the water parks and pools. That's our new weekend outing with the girls, and they love it. Also, do you have a children's museum? Another fantastic option for indoor winter activities.
Posted by: Julie | March 3, 2006 11:20 PM