Sunday, January 16, 2011

Death By Thomas



My son loves Thomas the Train.  So so so so much.  He loves Thomas so much that he took him sledding while we were in Chicago for the holidays.  (Refer to Exhibit A above.)  He also loves his Giki (the giraffe blanket) as you can see above as well.

Now the blanket isn't too much of a bother when we're at home.  He doesn't take him out into the world usually (although we're going to the Dr. tomorrow and Giki will DEFINITELY be joining us).  Thomas the Train and all his train, bus, tractor and other modes of transportation friends, however, are a different story.

I have a love/hate relationship with all them these days.

One the one hand I love them.  They're pretty harmless and make my child extremely happy.  And when he plays with the trains and track set he owns it's no bother to me.

It's the videos that are getting to me.  The Boy is addicted to Thomas videos.  The moment he wakes up he's talking about Thomas videos.  He requests Thomas video viewing.  Moments after finishing up an hour of Thomas he will request to watch more.  We'll watch videos we own, videos we can "On Demand" from the cable for free and videos we can purchase from cable for a day's worth of viewing.  We go to a friends house and we all watch more Thomas.  Up until the time he goes to bed at night he will want to watch Thomas.

His viewing of Thomas and Friends reached such epic proportions that Mr. Jarcy and I found ourselves humming/singing Thomas theme songs throughout the day.  I'm also grappling with existential Thomas questions like, "Who's really in charge--the trains or the drivers?" and "Was Thomas ever a baby?  If so, how did he come to be?" There are all these discrepancies like some buses and boats have faces (and therefore souls?) while others do not.  

I was even waking from sound, deep sleep in the middle of the night with those theme songs affixed to my brain.  They're two, they're four, they're six, they're eight...shunting trucks and hauling freight...red and green and brown and blue...they're The Very Useful Crew...Thomas!  He's the cheeky one...James!  He's vain but lots of fun!...

Once the song takes hold it won't let go.

I'm single parenting this week.  Mr. Jarcy has found work elsewhere leaving me and The Boy alone.  I'm going to get us out as much as I can muster with an active toddler but since The Boy doesn't nap much anymore I'm guessing Thomas videos will be making a strong showing this week.  Maybe Mama can rest her eyes while he watches from time to time (often)...

(Jeez, the fact this post is the longest I've written in ages acts as proof that Thomas has taken over my life.)

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