It Keeps Me Young

I am by no means in the age range that most people would consider "old" but more and more lately I find myself reminded of the fact that I am in my thirties, and that isn't exactly young. As much as I know that I am a fundamentally different person than who I was a decade ago in a lot of ways, I don't really feel any different. Getting married and having a kid were both huge lifetime milestones that I felt should have changed everything about the way I look at the world and about how I perceive myself in relation to it. And yes, in some ways, they did, but throughout I still very much feel like me, like I haven't changed at all. It's funny that something so big just becomes your new normal so quickly and it becomes hard to remember just how different life really felt before it happened.

I mean, as much as my days revolve around my daughter and spending time with her and taking care of her, I don't ever really feel in my mind like what I expect a mom should feel like. Every once in a while I'll be doing something with Baby Girl, or I'll just get a glimpse of her making some face or discovering something new, and I'll be completely bowled over by the realization that this is my child. That my husband and I made her, that she wouldn't exist had my life not unfolded as it has. And that I am responsible for making sure she has every chance of growing up safely and happily and becoming a good person and a member of this crazy world we live in. It's a bizarre feeling. It's not like I ever forget that I'm a parent or anything, it's just that it's so much a part of my life I don't even ever think about it. So when I do, I am hit with a huge feeling of awe and wonder (and more than a little amazement that I've been entrusted with such a huge responsibility).

It seems like every day when I look in the mirror, the signs are there that I am getting older. More grey in my hair every day, and I've started to notice lines around my eyes and face. My body definitely doesn't have as much get-up-and-go as it did ten years ago. But none of that stuff bothers me. It surprises me from time to time, certainly, but I have no problem with aging naturally. I am not going to dye my hair to cover up the grey (I am actually kind of curious to see how long it takes to turn completely), and I won't be spending oodles of money on those expensive anti-wrinkle creams. I earned those laugh lines. I think that the biggest reason why I am not bothered by getting older is because in my heart and my mind, I am still a kid. 

As I grew up and my friends began to put away their childish toys and pursuits in favor of newer, more grown up, replacements, I only ever followed half-heartedly. I never let go of my love of toys and cartoons entirely, and while I did go through my party phase, I don't think there was ever a time I wouldn't have rather gone to see the new Disney movie (or stayed home to play with Legos while watching Powerpuff Girls) than to go out clubbing. I come by it honestly, I have grown to realize. I come from a long line of women capable of dealing with the responsibilities of adulthood while still holding on to "childish" pleasures. I think it lends us a little extra bit of happiness in our lives, to be honest. 

As I've grown up and moved even farther away from childhood, I've never stopped playing with and collecting toys or watching cartoons. My collection of Disney movies and other cartoons on DVD was quite impressive before my daughter came along, thank you very much. I have also, somehow, managed to seek out other people in my life who share the same outlook. All of my closest friends still embrace that "kid at heart" spirit to varying degrees. For a while I thought that everybody was like this, that everyone had some pursuit from childhood that they had kept with them when entering the realm of grownups. Sadly, I have learned that this just isn't so. There are a lot of people who frown on those of us who still play with toys or watch cartoons without the justification of entertaining a child in our care (and even quite a few who think that engaging in play with children is really just going overboard). I feel a little sorry for those people, to be honest. I am sure they have things that they take pleasure in, but no adult emotion can compare to that outright glee of childhood joy. It just can't. That's why you have to keep your inner kid alive in my opinion, because if you let her die, then you lose that sense of wonder about the world, and life is a lot less fun. There's enough doom and gloom out there for us grownups to deal with, if you ask me.

I also think that this outlook helps to make me a better parent (not than other people, but than I would be otherwise), because I can take just as much joy out of the things my daughter loves as she does. I can play with her and not be phoning it in. It gives us a chance to spend even more quality time together, which I am very thankful for, because, you guys, my daughter is awesome. And she's just going to keep getting even more awesome (then she'll become a teenager, but once she grows out of that, I fully expect her to be awesome again). We are standing here with all of the years to come spread out before us and the possibilities are endless. 

I used to worry that with her being a single child (we have no plans for more children) she would have difficulty learning some of the concepts that siblings are great at teaching--like sharing. But I don't so much worry about that anymore. For one thing, I am trying to remain mindful of those lessons and ensure that she gets to spend time around other kids so I can monitor her progress. For another, it never really dawned on me until recently that as much as I love to play with toys too, well, she's going to have to learn how to share with me. (Hey, there are plenty of ponies for both of us to play with.) As she starts to find all of my toys scattered around the house and claim them for her own, it's a good refresher in sharing for me as well, it turns out. Win-win.

I guess what it boils down to is that I would rather be young of heart than look young of body any day. As much responsibility as parenthood is, having my daughter around certainly keeps me young of heart. Now, if you need me, I'll be playing with my daughter...

Maybe Friendship Really Is Magic

Back in January, I wrote a post about My Little Pony spurred on by my daughter getting one of the happy meal toys based on the new version of that cartoon from my childhood. I was pretty disappointed with the new look of the updated ponies and had concluded that we would be sticking with the old school version of the cartoons when and if I let my daughter watch any MLP down the road. At the time, I saw that there had been a few straight-to-DVD movies released aroundabouts 2006 and they looked thoroughly meh, so I really didn't think they were worth my time and attention. What I had neglected to notice was that the toy that spurred my thoughts on the topic (and my daughter's toothpaste design) was actually brought in by a new new MLP show, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, created by a completely different team (as far as I can tell) than the 2006 movies. Had I noticed this at the time I probably still wouldn't have cared, I'll admit. My mind was pretty made up.

But then I was talking to my husband sometime in the last few months and we somehow got onto the topic of MLP (I have no idea how), and he asked if I had been watching the new version. I told him no, of course not. He said he had actually heard really good things about it, and that it was the people behind Powerpuff Girls who had made this new version. Now, I love PPG, and my husband knows it. I kind of feel like that is exactly the kind of cartoon I want my little girl to grow up watching, because while yeah, there's an element of the girly to it, it also has a huge element of kick-butt and independent thinking involved. As well as just being completely entertaining. My husband implored me to give the new MLP a try. That's right, my husband asked me to watch My Little Pony. I told him sure, I'd check it out at some point, and the matter didn't really come up again.

A little time goes by...and all of a sudden, I can't get away from the new ponies. Apparently there's this whole concept of "bronies" that has sprung up around Friendship is Magic. A combination of "bro" and "ponies" it refers to the fact that a ton of teenage and up guys (and gals) have totally gotten hooked on the show. Artist Lar DeSouza (who draws for two of my favorites, Looking for Group and Least I Could Do) is among their ranks, and in June finally gave in and started sketching his own ponies in homage. He drew himself as a pony, and then the Looking For Group character Richard as one as well (Richard's battle cry is "For Pony!" so this seemed especially appropriate). He spread his pony love by drawing fellow comic artist Joel Watson, of Hijinks Ensue, as a pony also. The last straw came about two weeks ago when Katie Cook, the genius behind Gronk, mentioned that she, too, has become totally enamored of Friendship is Magic and drew a Gronk pony, which was just the cutest thing ever. There's even a site on the CHEEZburger network called My Little Brony. It is LOLcats with ponies, y'all. These are two of my favorites that I've seen:

I finally caved and started watching the show. I set it to record in my DVR and my daughter and I have been catching up on the first season ever since. It is actually kind of spectacular. Suddenly the extra stylized look and big eyes of the new ponies are forgivable, because they make sense in the context of the show, which is drawn in a very anime-inspired style. The pony Pinkie Pie, with the balloons on her butt? Yeah, she's kind of one of my favorites now. Lauren Faust, who served as a writer and director for Powerpuff Girls, created Friendship is Magic, serving as a writer and producer on the first season, and set to continue as a writer for the upcoming second season. The PPG influence is definitely there for those who are looking for it, but I feel like it also manages to capture a lot of the spirit and charm of the original series, which was an extremely pleasant surprise for me. There's even a dragon, yay!

The basic premise of the show, from what I can gather, is that Twilight Sparkle, a student of pony royalty Princess Celestia, has been kind of isolated and had her nose stuck in her books for most of her life. So Princess Celestia decides to expand her pupil's education by sending Twilight Sparkle and her assistant Spike (the dragon) down to Ponyville to continue her studies but also to get out and meet other ponies and make friends. Each episode Twilight Sparkle learns some lesson of how friendship works and she sends a report back to Princess Celestia with what she's learned (the moral of the story, so to speak). It's a cutesy concept, sure, but it works to show that people ponies are not perfect and give and take is part of the normal course of things. Other than the bit at the end, the show doesn't try to cram the "lesson" down the viewer's throat, and the writers do a good job of just making it become apparent throughout the episode.

I like that there are different kinds of ponies as well--pegasus ponies, regular ponies, and unicorns (who have magic). It's fun to watch how the ponies manipulate their environment given that their hooves don't give them the best grasp of things and they lack opposable thumbs. That is a neat level of detail, and the fact that the show runners are paying attention to that kind of thing impresses me, I'll admit. Also, instead of saying "everyone" and "nobody" and the like, they all say "everypony" or "nopony." I have decided to find this cute rather than be annoyed by it.

In one of those weird convergences, we started watching the show right before my daughter's birthday, and even though I hadn't mentioned it to anyone, she got two different MLP toys for her birthday. I was very pleased to see that the actual toys are not so skinny as the happy meal toys were (even though the happy meal toys do seem to be more on par with how the ponies on the show look).

Sweetie Belle doll, Baby Girl loves giving her her bottle.

Twilight Sparkle balloon playset. 

A better look at Twilight Sparkle, not an anorexic pony, yay!

Spike the dragon.

Compare the happy meal version with the toy.

Happy Meal Twilight Sparkle.

Granted, I am not giving all updates of shows from my childhood a reprieve (I still refuse to budge on the Strawberry Shortcake nonsense), and I still would really rather people just came up with their own new thing. But I have to say, after giving the new My Little Pony a chance, I am definitely on board. It is fun to be able to watch it with my daughter and know that we are both enjoying it, even it if is on completely different levels. And I'll admit it, the thought of my daughter having her own set of ponies to play with as she grows up makes me a little warm and fuzzy inside. I've already hunted down the basic pony toys of the main six characters. I will likely be getting her at least a few of those for Christmas.

Still, I did go ahead and order the original movie. It doesn't hurt to make sure she knows where this is coming from, right? We watched it last night, and I can admit that, as much as I love the old-school version, as much as I will always love it, the new one is actually probably better. I think the storytelling on the modern version is a lot tighter and the production values, as you might expect with over twenty-five years of advancement, are much better. It is a kids show, sure, but it doesn't feel quite as slapped together as the fare from my day. I thought that Spike the baby dragon was a holdover from the original, and was glad to see I was right. In fact, he is the only character with the same name and appearance (if updated) from back in the day. Clearly Lauren Faust digs dragons. I can get behind that. I did enjoy picking out which old-school ponies had inspired the newer characters too.

And my daughter still totally dug it. That made me happy, oh yes it did.

Unintentional Flashbacks

Twinkle Hope by dreamcicle19772006 on Flickr

There has been a trend over the last few years of making new and updated versions of cartoons from the mid-nineties and before specifically for today's children.  I don't really get this.  I would guess that the theory is that the kids who watched these cartoons back in the day are now grown up and have kids of their own.  These parents, upon seeing something from their own childhood will immediately warm to the newer versions and want to share them with their children.  But this is actually not the reaction I get from these newer cartoons at all.  Instead, I get mildly irritated (sometimes more than mildly, I'll admit) at the tremendous waste of time of this whole idea.  As a parent who is actually watching most of the cartoons my daughter watches right along with her, I find these modern versions are usually a very poor substitute for the original thing.  Often, they are rehashing original story lines with new animation and voice-acting, and I find that just lazy as well.  I know in some cases it is honestly a matter of expanding the existing number of episodes, and both are being offered up to today's children, with new actors and animation a requirement because the originals are no longer available.  But a lot of them, in my opinion, are just plain rip-offs, intended to cash in on parents' nostalgia and sell new toys without actually trying to produce a quality product.  What these cartoons do is leave me disgusted with the new offering and hungry for the originals.

Take, for instance, My Little Pony.

I have been peripherally aware for some time that there has been an updated line of these toys available for some time now.  The My Little Pony toys, television show, and movie were a firm fixture in my childhood in the eighties.  I am not ashamed to admit I owned more than my fair share of the pretty ponies.  I absolutely loved them, and do still harbor a soft spot in my heart for the memories of that part of my childhood.

That being said, however, I find the new line of toys just a little bit off.  Something about them just doesn't sit right with me.  They are too stylized.  I know, I know, the original line was definitely stylized too.  But these new ones are even worse.  I think it's because they made them skinny and gave them ridiculously oversized eyes (even more so than on the originals).

When I was buying the first tube of trainer toothpaste for my daughter to use with her first real toothbrush (after she had enough teeth that the little finger mitt was definitely no longer an option, which meant no more buying the kit that came with the toothpaste included), I did end up going with the My Little Pony toothpaste, despite my issues with the new version of the franchise.  Mostly this was because the other tube, with Thomas the Tank Engine, was either blueberry or bubble-gum flavored, as opposed to the Pinkie Fruity Flavor of the MLP tube.  It just sounded better.  It's not like my daughter is the one applying the toothpaste to the brush yet, so I wasn't too worried about it.

Last night, however, I gave in to a mild case of the Mondays and decided to pick up dinner from McDonald's rather than cook anything.  I forgot to ask for the toy for ages three and under (okay, that's not entirely true, I may have forgotten on purpose, because McDonald's three and under toys are kind of crap, at least Chick-fil-A has board books for the little ones), so she got a My Little Pony toy.  (I think it interesting to note here that as I was just typing "My Little Pony" I first typed "Phony."  That is not the first time that happened in the course of researching and writing this entry--not even the second or third.  Guess what that says about how I feel about the new line.)

Most of the time, I actually don't let my daughter have the toys out of her kid's meal.  But when I do (always after a thorough inspection for small and/or hazardous bits), it isn't until after she's done eating.  So during dinner last night I was looking at this toy, and reading the happy meal box trying to figure out her name and "personality" (her name is Pinkie Pie, she's fun loving and friendly, and has balloons on her butt, that's about it).  I decided to go ahead and let her have it, and she played with it for a little while after dinner (I actually didn't hand it to her straightaway, but set it down with her other toys and she stumbled across it later) and then moved on to attempting to demolish my crochet project.

As I was giving Baby Girl her bath last night, though, and putting the toothpaste on her toothbrush, I looked at the tube and realized that the pony pictured on it is the same pony she got in her happy meal, balloons on the butt and all.  Go figure.

The whole thing got me remembering my own childhood experiences with My Little Pony.  Looking around online, I see that several straight to DVD movies have been made featuring the new ponies, but even if I do concede and let my daughter have more of those to play with down the road, I think we'll be sticking with the original cartoons, thank you very much.  Amazon has the movie for only about thirteen bucks, so I think we'll be adding that to our collection pretty soon.  They've also got the first season (which looks like the bulk of the series) of the television show on DVD as well.  Might be a worthy investment.  With a few exceptions, I have been pretty disappointed in what passes for cartoons these days, so I have been stockpiling some old school stuff (sadly, some of it well before my husband and I even started trying to have a child) for Baby Girl to watch.  We've got the entire series of She-Ra and Powerpuff Girls, as well as a season and some random episode collections of Fraggle Rock, and a few other cartoons as well.

I'm gonna raise my kid right when it comes to cartoons.  She'll watch the good stuff, and I'll be right there watching it with her.  There won't be any of these crappy updated substitutions if I have anything to say about it.  I mean, don't even get me started on what they've done to Strawberry Shortcake...