Walking away is not an option... dialogue must prevail.

"A good listener tries to understand what the other person is saying. In the end he may disagree sharply, but because he disagrees, he wants to know exactly what it is he is disagreeing with."
- Kenneth A. Wells

"I do not want the peace that passeth understanding. I want the understanding which bringeth peace."
- Helen Keller

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

This post is brought to you by the letter S and the number 40

For another birthday post, scroll down.



Once upon a time, a little girl in pigtails was lying on her stomach watching TV.

And the whole world opened up for her.

She improved her English... she even learned some Spanish. She learned big words, like Snuffleupagus and ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ (phonetically known as Abcedeckicheckelmonokwerstuweitsyz). She learned to love monsters (even the ones that say "Wubba Wubba"). She was encouraged to use her imagination. She learned to count with a Count. She learned her ABCs and that C stands for all sorts of Cool stuff like Cookies... and CAKE. She developed compassion because she found out that being green and different isn't always easy, but it can be beautiful.

And she made some forever friends.

To the fine people (and monsters...) on Sesame Street, thank you... and Happy 40th birthday!




You made mine and my daughter's childhoods most magical. You taught both of us to stand up, and sing... out loud! That we, all the kids who watched, mattered. We KNOW how to get to Sesame Street.

I'm sharing many clips with you... feel free to watch any you want. It's good to share, they taught me THAT too!

Memories




Imagination



Being Green



The sillies are fun



The longest word *grin*



The Count and Cookie Monster bring you - cooperation, another great C word



Grover and Christopher talk about LOVE


"What kind of people can you love?" "Any kind."

Rest in Peace Mr Hooper (Will Lee), I still miss you. Kids learned it's ok to be sad... but when we remember, the people we love live on. And some things happen just because.

11 comments:

Nessa said...

Big Bird was my daughter's favorite.

Blast from the Past

Akelamalu said...

I used to love watching Sesame Street with my boys! :)

Anndi said...

Nessa, I always loved Big Bird too and admired his unicycle skills.

Akelamalu, I loved that I got to share their magic with my girl. I saw old favourites and made new friends. I just hope they're still around when she has her kids (in a very long time!)

Brian o vretanos said...

I don't think it ever really caught on in Britain, unlike the Muppets, but I know what you mean about sharing childhood experiences with your daugher - it's definitely one of the joys of being a parent.

Anndi said...

Brian, I LOVED The Muppets!
And you're so right about sharing childhood experiences with our kids :)

Travis Cody said...

When I think of Sesame Street, I always think of giggles. My sis and I used to giggle all the time with the kids on the show.

Ron said...

OMG, Anndi...thank you SO MUCH for posting this, because I've been SO enjoying Googles celebration of all the Sesame Street characters!!

Everyday I looked forward to seeing who they posted on their google page.

Being Green is very special to me because I once sang it for a performance I gave in acting school while living in NYC. I sang it dressed up as a plant in a pot.

Rainbow Connection is also one of my favs and I cry every time I hear it.

HAPPY 40TH BIRTHDAY SESAME STREET!!

xoxoxox

amynoroom said...

Awe, Sesame Street! I used to watch it, too!!!!! I loved it. My boys both watched it.

Do you remember "Ladybug Picnic"? That is one of my favorites....

1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12...12 lady bugs at the ladybug picnic

well they all jumped rope til the jump rope broke...then they sat around telling knock knock jokes...

12 ladybugs at the ladybug picnic!

Anndi said...

Travis, giggles were a daily part of Sesame Street =)

Ron, I can't tell you how much Joy this post brought to my heart. It was like visiting with an old friend... I LOVED The Rainbow Connection!

Amy, Isn't it wonderful when a part of your childhood becomes a part of theirs?

I actually watched a clip of the ladybug picnic! I remembered so many of the words to so many songs =)

Anonymous said...

I remember watching SS in high school..it was just so new and above all the other programs that came before it.

I also remember sitting in a room at Lake Mohonk in NY with my 2 yr old son on my lap as we watched the Mr. Hooper episode..where they tried to explain to BigBird why he wasn't coming back...

Anndi said...

Coop... that made me smile.

That episode, it breaks my heart.