ago. It's what everyone seemed to do on Thursday nights at 8:00.
It was a good and funny show.
I missed the beginning of this particular episode. When I
turned on the TV, little Rudy Huxtable was pouting in her room.
She wandered around so sad and morose. She young actress did an
excellent job. You could feel the emotion as she sat on her
bed, hugging a stuffed animal with tears in her eyes.
In the background, Kermit the Frog sang a song about how it's not
easy being green. It was a powerful scene. I wondered what I
missed. What could make Rudy look that sorrowful?
The show continued and I learned the answer. Rudy wanted to
wear a sleeveless summer dress to a party. Her mother told her
"no, it's too cold. Find another dress."
She then asked her father if she could wear the dress. He said,
"Sure."
She slipped out of the house in the dress. But then her mother
caught her and she was in a lot of trouble. Hence, the sadness
and pouting in her room.
I thought to myself, "Oh, how stupid!"
I thought the episode was about something IMPORTANT. All that
emotion and she was just upset about a dress? Give me a break.
Two decades later, here I am with my own young child. I have
learned about how children feel and react. And I can see that a
dress, or something like that, could make a child feel so bad.
I wasn't feeling so good myself yesterday. My ear itched and my
arm really hurt. I'm tired of pain and trouble. I was feeling
quite down.
I couldn't wait for JD to come home from camp. I knew he'd burst
in like a ray of sunshine, chattering about camp and all the fun
he had. Instantly, I would feel better and alive again. But
that didn't happen.
JD was upset about a video game. He had fun playing a teen
rated game at camp. He really wanted the game but knew I
wouldn't let him have it. He also felt like he betrayed me
because he played the game at all.
He was moping and sad when he came inside. He sat heavily on the
couch. I couldn't get him to talk or laugh or smile. He was
unhappy and that made me unhappy. We both were having a pretty
sorrowful day.
How silly that a video game should make him that sad. It's just
a game. It's not really important. It doesn't much matter.
But it mattered to JD and it was important to him. So that
made it important to me. Just like a summer dress was important
because it was important to Rudy Huxtable.
When you are a parent, your perspective changes. You see the
little things in life that are loved by children, and you begin
to understand how important they are.
I was thinking about Kermit's song. "It's not easy being green."
What does it mean to be green? I think we all feel "green" at
times. Whether you are a frog, a child or someone who is
deaf-blind, it's not easy when things go wrong.
It's Not Easy Being Green
by The Muppets
It's not that easy being green Having to spend each day the color
of the leaves When I think it could be nicer being red, or yellow
or gold Or something much more colorful like that
It's not easy being green It seems you blend in with so many
other ordinary things And people tend to pass you over 'cause
you're Not standing out like flashy sparkles in the water Or
stars in the sky
But green's the color of Spring And green can be cool and
friendly-like And green can be big like an ocean, or important
Like a mountain, or tall like a tree
When green is all there is to be It could make you wonder why,
but why wonder why Wonder, I am green and it'll do fine, it's
beautiful And I think it's what I want to be
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