All posts by Holly

Reviews

Elmo

2 Comments

For weeks I have had Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey queued up on my “to watch” list. It took me a while because if I have the time to watch a movie it means the babies are sleeping, and who wants to watch a movie about Elmo after the babies have gone to sleep?

But I absolutely love biographies and hearing people’s stories.

Kevin Clash‘s did not disappoint.

A major theme became evident as I watched his life’s story unfold.

The unwavering support of his parents

Kevin was entranced by puppets from a very young age, and his parents did not discourage this. His mom said everyone was always telling her he should be outside, or playing basketball. But, she said, making puppets “was a talent that he had and he loved it.”

Dan Allender, in his book How Children Raise Parents, writes, “If we want to be good parents, we must learn how to read our children. And that requires learning how to listen to our children- one of life’s most difficult, most demanding tasks.” He goes on to say we should study our children and guide them in the direction of their natural bent.

Kevin Clash’s parents did this well.

As it turns out, he studied them too, and their characteristics are personified in Elmo. Clash admits that Elmo is his parents- “Elmo is like my dad, very imaginative and creative. And Elmo is also like my mother. The ball of fire that Elmo is, my mom is like that, a lot of energy and excitement about life.”

being elmo, a puppeteer's journey
Learning to be a good listener

“Being Elmo” gave me renewed appreciation for Sesame Street as a whole and encouraged my role as a mother in guiding my children to follow their dreams.

“There’s always going to be someone saying to you that you might not succeed…there’s always going to be some type of obstacle in the way. All of those things will go away if you really focus on what makes you happy.”

And through Elmo, Kevin Clash brings happiness to millions of children all over this world.

Prevention

New Uses for “Old” Things

4 Comments

When I became a mother 3 years and 8 months ago, I also took on many other roles. Yes, we’ve all seen the list of a mom defined: manager, meal planner, chef, chauffeur, accountant, personal stylist, referee, nurse, the list goes on.

But who knew I would excel in these other, more obscure arenas?

To be added to my resume under special skills, pronto:

Contortionist : When I’m holding my baby on my hip and leaning sideways into the washing machine to transfer the load to the drier while keeping him steady, I consider auditioning for cirque du soliel.

Whimsical Storyteller: My husband tells my son redeeming angry bird stories to put him to bed every night. However when hes out-of-town, it’s up to me. It feel like my brain is stretching and reshaping as I try to keep my 3 year old as absorbed by the story as his daddy does. But something tells me his angry birds don’t live in Paris and start out their days eating pain chocolat while strolling along the Seine with Sophie the giraffe.

Sophie the Giraffe

Superhero’s Architect: Batman’s cave should look nothing like my Barbie doll’s house of yore- so I’m building new wings.

Tai chi Master: The incredible sloooooooooooow mooooooootion precision with which I lay down a sleeping baby, slide my arm out from under him or place his arms under the car seat straps and lock him in without waking him are worthy of Grandmaster status.

Vending Machine: I have been continuously breastfeeding on-demand, without a break, for 3 years and 8 months. Need I say more? Baby’s hungry? Look no further, Mama’s here.

Endurance Trainer: there are times I’ve held my 25 pound sleeping (sack-of-potatoes) baby for 3 hours straight. While standing. Many times, actually. Or times I haven’t moved for 8 hours straight while on an overnight flight so he would stay asleep on my lap. Or that lovely time I pushed my 6 month old straight up a hill in a stroller while carrying his 3 year old brother and holding his scooter in 95 degree weather.  Or the time I carried my sleeping, 35 pound two year old up FIVE flights of subway stairs while 5 months pregnant. Endurance people, endurance. Oh and while we’re at it, let’s  not forget labor and childbirth!

Night Vision Specialist: having a 3 year old in the family bed means there is no turning on lights when changing middle-of the-night diapers.

Ambidextrous-single handed-multitasker: the list of things I can do with one hand continues to grow, and it’s usually my left hand.  Cracking an egg left handed whilst holding my nursing newborn with the other comes to mind.

Detective: Any and every kind. From figuring out an illness to decoding tantrum triggers to hunting for bugs in the dirt, Sherlock, you have met your match.

Polyphasic Sleeper: How have I found time to ace all of my new titles? The same way Leonardo da Vinci managed to excel as an artist, architect, sculptor, inventor, etc. By only sleeping for 15 minutes at a time for a total of one and a half hours a day! Seriously- Who needs sleep?

Unless you’ve figured out how to clone yourself (I wouldn’t be surprised, as inventor could easily be on this list) you can add every one of these to your resume too. Hopefully we won’t be interviewing for the same position.

Mothers are all superheros, and I’m usually wearing my cape! It might look like it’s on backwards with a breastfeeding child’s legs dangling out from under it, but that’s my way of flying incognito.

moms are superheros
My cape, disguised as a nursing cover

What can you add to the list?