Be Silly. Very Silly.
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Meet Mr. Ketchup. The creature who saved me.
It was a Wednesday. Which meant one thing: I had been solo with the girls for an entire day. And they had, as per custom, kicked my booty. I was tired. Very. And it was dinner time. Which sometimes doubles as the whiny, witching hour.
The girls were tired and hungry. Toddler was a puddle of tears. I put them in their highchairs-cum-barstools. I placed their very favorite dinner in front of them: (organic!) chicken nuggets and (organic!) potato letters. This did not distract. We had ourselves a maddening melody of tears.
I stood there. Barefoot and exasperated in my kitchen. About to wave that white flag and surrender. But suddenly. I had an idea. A ridiculous one.
I grabbed the (organic!) ketchup. Held him up in the air. Introduced him.
Girls! Presenting Mr. Ketchup!
Amazingly, the tears stopped. Faint and matching smiles appeared.
I went with it. Mr. Ketchup says it is time to be silly! He says it is time to eat some food. Mr. Ketchup then proceeded to gobble from each girl’s plate. Hysterical laughter erupted. Mr. Ketchup says the food is so yummy and you should try it! Two little girls plunged into their dinners. Mr. Ketchup makes a very funny sound! Want to hear it? A pair of vigorous nods. Mr. Ketchup emitted a flatulent sound. One that made even Mommy giggle.
Keep eating! crooned Mr. Ketchup. The girls ate.
Mr. Ketchup is getting so tired! He needs a blanket! I proceeded to swaddle Mr. Ketchup in a dish towel. The verdict? Absolutely hilarious!
The girls kept eating as I began to rock Mr. Ketchup to sleep. He woke up every ten seconds with that ludicrous sound. The girls were in stitches. They finished their dinners.
They ate! They were happy! I had survived!
As I unwrapped Mr. Ketchup and put him back with his condiment friends in the side of the fridge, it occured to me. Parents need to be silly. People need to be silly.
Very silly.
Sometimes, when we are helpless and hopeless and drenched in a hurricane of tiny tears, it is silly that will save us.
Thanks much, Mr. Ketchup.
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How often are you silly, very silly? Have you ever been saved by silly? Have you ever anthropomorphized a bottle of (organic!) ketchup?
Genius! Mental note: personifying food is the way to make anything better!
You know why I love this? Because it isn’t just about silly. It’s actually bigger than that. It’s about creativity in parenting. It’s about meeting your kids where they are. It’s about giving up the power struggle and making things fun. Those are hard things for a parent to do any day, but to muster the energy for them at 35+ weeks pregnant is doubly impressive. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: you’re a good mother.
You ARE a good mother and I love this reminder to be silly! My silliness usually involves singing the lyrics to 80′s songs in obnoxious ways, which usually evokes eye rolling from my teens and tweens. But I persevere in hopes that someday when they are grown and gone, they will hear that same song on the radio and think of me, shaking their head over their crazy mom memories.
I agree with Gale. It’s about being creative and meeting them where they are. I love this. I still do things like this with my little one. He laughs and we both have a good time. Very sweet, Aidan.
What a great idea and good reminder! It seems as parents we always need to have some new tricks up our sleeves and silly is always good!
What a great idea! And you got the girls to eat!! I have to do something silly at least every other day, or I would lose my mind!
Such a great idea–and not just in parenting. I love the idea that at the point of sheer exhaustion and almost giving up you swung completely the other way with silly. That is one of the keys to life–being able to flow from tears to laughter–I tend to be more of a ‘bumper’ through life so thanks for the wonderful reminder to flow
Cute! I do all kinds of goofy things with my kiddo, and we go through a heck of a lot of organic ketchup (“keppup,” as the wee one says).
I love this story. Not only is it fun it is also an example of a shining parent moment. Bravo, Aidan. It makes me feel good when I am able to step away from how a situation is making me feel enough to figure out what my children need. It’s tough business and I am pretty sure that doing this at 35 (36?) weeks pregnant makes you a superwoman.
when i was pregnant i read somewhere that the key to parenting was being able to turn anything and everything, from an unwanted diaper change to a bath time hair wash, into a silly song. though i haven’t even completed a year of this mama gig, this trick has served me well myriad times already. i’m adding anthropomorphizing ketchup to the list for down the road.
and nope. i’m not silly enough. that’s why i married the man i did…because he is one funny, funny dude.
organic ketchup? this alone makes you a much better mama than me! i never even thought about organic condiments!!!
The wonderful thing about kids is that they remind us how to make a fantasy out of existence. If everything could come alive like Mr. Ketchup, I think our adult lives would be much less stressful and so much more fun and rich.
I’m going to my fridge now to see who’s in there!
I love this story! Genius is often born of desperation- especially where moms are concerned!
It also reminds me of what I used to do when my son didn’t want to get into his PJs. The PJs would come to life with a silly voice and beg to be put on. Or sometimes they would run away and my son would go chasing after them- all of a sudden intent on catching them and wanting nothing more than to put them on.
He’s 11 now and sometimes it feels much harder to find the thing that will tickle his funny bone when he’s having a tween moment- but when I can pull it off, silliness still works its magic!
When my children were toddlers I used to sneak in the house sometimes to see who was hanging out with them. Oh, if only I could have filmed some of the stuff I saw.
Loved this and a wonderful reminder of something I should always remember but don’t, laughter is the best medicine.
Yes, yes! I have done similar schticks before. Totally in the moment and nowhere to go but silly. Kids are the best audience. They don’t judge, only laugh and think you are the most clever hysterical comedian in the world.
Love it! We all need to break down and be ridiculous sometimes. In fact, I’m looking forward to having children for that reason (and, you know — so many others!): the chance to let loose, relax and not be afraid of acting silly.
And my sister and I often say that we can’t wait to have kids so we can color in coloring books again. With a fresh set of crayons. Is there anything better?
I often act silly — very silly — around my family and boyfriend. By day, people often remark on my “serious” side… and I am very serious, responsible and polite during the day! In my free time, though, I’m goofy and funny and erudite. I don’t worry so much. There are so many sides to each of us.
i can almost hear the giggles from pittsburgh!
i love to be silly w/the kids, too! mostly changing the words of my favorite songs to make them relevant to their situations…it’s fun when they hear the real version on the radio and tell me “they’re singing it wrong”. i also am no longer mommy when i’m washing and styling their hair; i’m “alice the hairstylist” and i have a southern accent to match my southern hospitality and charm! they love to hear about alice’s family, her day at work, her favorite clients, etc… it makes a very time-consuming chore into something funny. btw, my husband is “agador the manicurist” when he paints their nails and has a thick (think hank azaria in birdcage) cuban/latino accent…oh, it’s funny.
Oh yeah! I love personifying things… it’s my speciality! I wrote a whole book with my Laptop (Laptop Guy.) He’s the closest thing I have to a relationship… We’re together constantly, we really connect, and my favorite, he’s always turned on by me!
Ya gotta be silly! (Though my 16-year-old is somehow not as entertained by my antics any more or weird ploys to make games out of chores. No matter how much I try to convince him that picking up dog poop is just like a specialized Easter Egg hunt, he is just not going for it…)
Ah this is something I struggle with – but try to remember as I’m going back and forth with my boys. It’s so hard when you too are tired, to let go of the struggle and frustration.
Silly? All. The. Time. Being a lifetime dork who embraces my ridiculousness helps. I’m truly looking forward to having kids so someone besides my hubby will finally appreciate it. Until they’re teens…
Once, when my daughter was itty bitty and would NOT sleep I was walking the halls with her reciting Dr. Suess. “Ant Annie’s Alligator. A, A, A. Big B liggle b…” I recited the whole dang book.
And soothing it…wasn’t.
I’d been trying to put her to sleep with that little recitation and walk. But I was so frustrated. And tired.
Then I looked at myself.
And burst out laughing.
Sometimes even when I don’t mean to be silly, I’m silly. I take myself so seriously and really I am a walking joke. I only need to take a look. Laughter is so gentle. It difuses any situation, right?
You’re great. Thanks for sharing yourself so organically.
I so needed this–thank you Aidan! Yes, I have often found a smile crack on my son’s face when I do something unexpected and silly that dispels the tension building in a power struggle! And the visual image of you barefoot–and way pregnant–in the kitchen, w/ Mr. Ketchup made me giggle too
Blessings to you and I have to confess that every time I see a new blog posting in my inbox, I wonder, is this the day the little one makes her arrival?! We’re all excited for you…
I love this!! Is it weird that sometimes I am self-conscious doing silly stuff? I mean my kid is 15 months old, she can’t judge yet. My husband is so good at this: he will just make something up, sing a silly song, and he’ll do it in front of people! And sometimes I have trouble doing that even when we’re by ourselves.
I dig the ketchup spin off. FYI – wrestling Mr. Vacuum has been a big hit in my experience to. (And fun!)