Stooge Day!
I'm savoring my first cup of coffee of the day. And it's 11:45 am. This is SO wrong that I don't know how to explain it.
What with the cold, grey weather, and the cloud of blah hanging over the planet right now, I hereby proclaim a Stooge Day.
Stooge Day is a childhood tradition shared by me and my sister. On cold, cruddy days, we would hang out in the backyard, either perched on top of the swingset thinking up naughty things we could say to the boy who lived over the fence (poopie-head!) or collecting pods from the Pedanyo tree (I don't know what this tree's species actually is, but we called it a Pedanyo and it had pods.) We used the pods for elaborate rituals that we concocted on the spot.
Stooge days were filled with secret society meetings, reinacting scenes from Little Women and Trixie Belden, and dressing in the strangest outfits we could put together. The best part of Stooge Day was eating a pomegranate and spitting the seedlets. We would be stained purply-red for days - a sign of our tribal allegiance and participation in Stooge Day.
*closing eyes and chanting*
Hi lo eenie meenie ka-ka, um-chow chow with a pee-wa-wa! Icka-da meenie ox-eye, boom-dee iddie, addie, oodie, yoo-hoo.
There was never a television on, or a formal meal eaten. We ate finger sandwiches under the picnic table with a blanket draped over the top. We made up plays and fought over starring rolls. (If this sounds familiar - you have to check out the Early Reader books about the Golly Sisters. May-May and Rose ARE me and my sister.)
Which reminds me - the much admired RocketMom was inspired by my "If I was a better mom" entry a while back, and created a button - voila!
I inspired ART, people. That is Stoogerific. Feel free to swipe it for your own sites - and let me know. We can be a not-so-secret club!
Anyway, the whole point of Stooge Day was and IS: be silly. Spend some time making ridiculous plans. Chant nonsense. Act out a fantasy. Eat a pomegranate. Laugh with someone you love. And come up with a real zinger of an insult for the mean kid next door.
Comments
My urchins will have an occasional day like that. I have to keep an eye on them though, because they do things like plan to take over the world and then try to loot the Hunter's arsenal for firepower. If I were a better mother I reckon they wouldn't be so evil.
Posted by: TW | November 4, 2004 12:41 PM
Little Women!!! A family favorite! It sounds like you and your sister knew how to have fun. Congratulations on all of your visitors. The world needs your riotous look on life, as well as your occasional soulful rant!! Brava, Jenny!
Posted by: bonnie | November 4, 2004 7:45 PM
Funny - I thought your were going to chant, "Mecka lecka high, mecka high knee hoe".
Posted by: Lee | November 5, 2004 4:40 AM
I spotted a bunch of Trixie Belden books in the bookstore last week. Cool to know that they're still in print. I enjoyed reading your blog and love your premise about making other parents feel better. Very cool....
Posted by: Ann | November 5, 2004 7:48 AM
If I were a good mother........I would have eight arms, I'd never get tired or hungry, I would know all the answers, I would invent vegetables that taste like candy so my one year old would eat them, I would be able to change poopie diapers without gagging.....the list goes on!
Posted by: jenni | November 5, 2004 1:15 PM