Everybody Clap!

Even though last week was incredibly difficult, through all the tears one thing became blatantly clear: I have an amazing family. Losing our Gumpo so unexpectedly was very hard, but we all pulled together and supported each other through the week.

And it wasn’t all sad. There were moments last week where I laughed harder than I have in a long time.

Many stories were told, memories shared, and there was Princess Pea.

My little niece is growing older and getting bigger, and in the process her personality is developing and she is absolutely hilarious. She is also pretty clear about what she likes and doesn’t like.

And right now, she loves The Wiggles.

Until a few weeks ago, I had never heard of The Wiggles. I grew up with Sesame Street, Polka Dot Door, Today’s Special and The Elephant Show… and The Wiggles is an Australian show that’s a little newer to the kid scene. It’s four men who sing songs, go on adventures in a big red car and eat lots of fruit salad (and sometimes creep me out). I knew that Peeah was “enjoying” The Wiggles on repeat, but until last Wednesday I was blissfully unaware of their TV show.

Peeah had to work last Wednesday, so I happily offered to babysit Pea during the day. Want to know what we did?

We danced. We ate. We napped.

…and we Wiggled.

(I took this just after she finished breakfast, hence the no shirt. I promise that she didn’t stand in front of the TV like that all day, she was just so excited to get out of her high chair and wiggle that she ran straight for the TV. And I laughed hysterically and had to capture it on film.)

Peeah left me two DVDs to put on in the background for Pea, who loves the music. I just didn’t realize how much until that day.

We watched them over, and over, and over… and let me tell you, they get better every time. I have them all memorized. Try me. I can sing The Wiggles on command.

You’ll notice that in the above picture she has some very pretty, very sparkly shoes on.

These are her “dancing shoes”. Peeah bought them a little while ago, and even though they are a little bit big for her, Pea loves them. If she finds them, she runs around with them in her hands until she gets you to put them on her, and then… she dances. It’s actually looks more like a chicken trying to jump, but she looks so cute when she does it.

And so, that was our day. We ate, danced, and Wiggled. And I memorized every song on those DVDs, as has most of our family.

Flash forward two days: my Gumpo’s funeral service has ended and we are all sitting together as many family members and friends mingle and enjoy refreshments. We are sitting in two rows facing each other, and Pea is running around in the middle, being her cute self. She was beginning to get tired, so my brother-in-law started to try and amuse her. After trying a couple of tricks, he started quietly singing one of the songs from The Wiggles, hoping to engage her.

Instead, he engaged all of us.

As he sang the first words, “Everybody Clap!” we all responded with the corresponding three claps from the song. He continued, “Everybody sing!” and we all echoed the corresponding “La la la la la!” before bursting into laughter.

It was maybe a silly little moment that no one else really noticed or thought anything of, but it was such a pick-me-up that day. It made me love my family even more than I already did. In an attempt to entertain our niece my family created a moment that I’ll remember forever.

…and I know I’ll remember it forever because that song has been stuck in my head ever since.

Enjoy. haha

Bear is now asleep… Shh! Shh! Shh!