Goodbye Wiggles

Something strange is happening at our house.  Our babies are two and a half years old now and all the truly "baby" stuff is rapidly evacuating from our home.  Okay, the reality is that I am tossing it out as fast as I can because of my crazy simplicity drive and plans for the move ahead.  However, suddenly the other day it dawned on me that as I am cleaning out that we are saying goodbye to so many of my children's friends just as fast as new friends come in the door.  No, I'm not talking about real live friends (as we try to be kind to the walking, breathing sort of friend), but the kind that children get so attached to with names like Thomas, Barney and Lightning.

When Samuel was just a wee toddler of one, he discovered Lightning McQueen and was immediately enamored with the bright eyed speedster.  From birthday celebrations to die-cast cars to bedding, he had to do it all Lightning style.  Samuel was so attached to Lightning, his cuddly buddies at night were die-cast cars with coordinating Mack trucks.  It was a hard concept for us to grasp, because they were truly his snugly pals and he would not share them with any one which caused many fights for play-dates and family stay overs.  It truly took a bit of time, being dense adults and all, to embrace that these cars were as dear to Samuel as as a teddy to another child.  Once that lesson sank in, we no longer asked him to share those particular toys and the fights were alleviated for the most part.  Imagine my sadness when he said "Mom, I am so tired of Lightning, can I just have everything dinosaur now?" 

Ethan was similarly attached to Thomas and friends.  We snapped together Thomas train tracks day after day, read Thomas books, watched Thomas videos, sang Thomas songs and pretended Thomas could talk to us.  We had a Thomas themed birthday cake and knew all the names of the other trains.  Then suddenly, like Lightning for Samuel, Thomas was replaced with Spider-man in just the blink of an eye.

These stories are to be expected as children grow, change, mature and discover new things.  But here is the saddest part of all...ALL my children have moved beyond the Wiggles.  Sniff.  Sniff.  I knew it was coming, but I was not prepared.  You may laugh at me, but I think I loved the Wiggles about as much as my children did.  When Samuel was a babe, our neighbors passed on some VHS videos of the Australian group and we thought they were nuts at first.  But the Wiggles grew on us and became part of our family.  Considering children tend to watch shows over and over to the detriment of most parents' sanity, we did okay with the Wiggles.  Greg Paige and Sam Moran's voices were soothing rather than obnoxious (ie Barney).  We researched the group, learned their history, bought their videos, had some of the CDs for the car, and somehow ended up with Wiggles sheets, books, and coloring books.  The Wiggles passed from Samuel to Ethan then from Ethan to Nina and Jocelyn.  I grew so accustomed to having Wiggles played in the background that on one occasion, after I left the children with my mom and dad, I drove away happily singing with the Wiggles for 30 minutes before I realized I was the lone person in the car and could listen to adult music.

But alas, Dora and Blue invaded our house, and the Wiggles were never requested for our little ladies in the last few months.  When I suggested Wiggles I would received a big, "NNOOOOO!!" from four little people, and I felt a little crack inside each time.  Knowing I could retrieve Wiggles at any point on You Tube, I heaved a sigh the other day, and packed the Wiggles stuff away and dropped it off at the Salvation Army.  Hoping some Wiggles desperate child would be beyond delighted to discover a Wiggles jackpot later that day.   Goodbye Wiggles.  Thanks for the hours of entertainment and for the many hours of sanity, you made many of my stay-at-home mom days more pleasant and you will be missed.