Kindly Explain

We are truly lucky to have the luxury of nearby grandparents who are not only willing to watch our little girl from time to time but would happily buy her from us if the price was right. And, in fact, I'm fairly certain they have sat around in the dark of the night contemplating whether or not we would suspect them if Stella suddenly went missing. Unlike many of our friends with kids who have never had a night out, we have been able to carry on as though nothing were different. And if you believe that, perhaps you would like to buy a bottle of this guaranteed-to-have your-baby-sleeping-uninterrupted-from-7-to-7-through-the-night bottled water. But seriously, we love being so close to my parents (don't we, Honey?) and I am so thrilled that Stella already knows them so well. When the husband and I fantasize about moving to some less crowded, quiet place, the conversation always terminates in my acknowledging that I couldn't actually leave what is and has always been my home. At least while my parents and brother, sister-in-law, niece and grandma are all here. But the thing about leaving your child with someone else (even a blood relative) is that you have to accept how that alien outsider is going to affect and influence your child.

Last weekend we dropped our precious, perfect little angel off with Grandma and Papa Paul for a few hours and when we came to pick her up she had a new little friend named Elmo. My mother was very proud and excited about this. However, I had harbored a secret desire to see how long I could keep Stella from even identifying the little guy. Mom didn't know this, though, and so she introduced them. She thought it was really cute to hear Stella say "Elmo" which it kind of is. But it is also cute to hear her say "car" and "up" and "mama" and pretty much any other word that comes out of her mouth. So far, Stella has not become super-obsessed by Elmo like many other kids I've seen out there but, the other day, she looked down at an imitation goldfish cracker I had gotten at Whole Foods that she was clutching in her hand and said "Elmo". I gently corrected my daughter informing her that, in fact, the cracker was shaped like another Sesame Street resident, Big Bird. But then, upon closer inspection I discovered that the little orange snackfood was, indeed, Elmo. I guess I took it for granted that, since Big Bird was on the box, Big Bird was in the box. Seriously, these crackers bear as little resemblance to Elmo as possible while still being Elmo. Somehow Stella put together that the red monster with the high pitched voice had been shrunk and dyed and transformed and was now a tasty explosion of crunchy cheeseness. How did she do this? What is it about Elmo's essence that is so recognizable to little toddlers? Sometimes it seems Stella doesn't quite recognize me but after a couple hours at Grandma and Grandpa's, Elmo is burned in her brain.