While walking into church Sunday morning, I saw another mom and her child scurrying into the warm building because it was cold outside. I burst into a Barney song, “Cold, brrr, I wish I had fur, I wish I was a bear with furry, furry hair, it’s cold, brrr…”. Now, repeat that 5 times while dancing and spinning. (Click here if you want to see the professional himself perform this song.)
When Tim and I considered having children, I swore I would never watch the annoying purple dinosaur, let alone memorize his ridiculous songs! I love kids, but I really, really, really do not like most children’s music. All those sing song-y, stick in your head, repetitive songs just about drive me crazy.
When Russell and I are in the car together, we don’t listen to kids songs. We listen to U2, Taylor Swift, John M. McMillian, and Gungor – okay, you could argue Taylor Swift is in the kids category – but the point is that we do not listen to pre-school music.
However, sometime during this past month, Russell became enamored with Barney. Tim and I are not Barney people – or I should say we were not Barney people. We are not the kind of people who browse children’s books at Barnes & Noble. We are not especially fond of cartoons or the germ-infested petri dish called “The Bouncy Castle” at the fair. But we are Russell people, and Russell loves Barney. So, we have found joy in watching him study the purple dinosaur with the short arms who laughs and spins and sings.
I guess that is how love works. We do things we wouldn’t otherwise choose for ourselves because the people we love enjoy them. This is the lesson Barney and Russell have been teaching me. I love Russell, and Russell loves Barney, so – at least for now – we’ll be singing Barney’s silly songs in my house.
Susie Grade 