Nine Lessons I WANT My Kids to Learn From SpongeBob

In honor of the new SpongeBob movie, "Sponge Out of Water," I dug this post out of the archives. Ironically, it is my fifth most viewed post behind my one and only viral post, a post about sleep training my toddler, and this post and this post about my son's cancer. Now we know what's important to people. It was originally published two years ago this month. Enjoy!

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Ahh, SpongeBob SquarePants, the bane of most parents' existence. I knew nothing about this little show five years ago. I only knew that other parents hated it, and that it was TV Y7, so that was enough convincing I needed to never turn it on.

Enter, grandparents and babysitters. Yeah, what happens when Mommy and Daddy aren't home . . .well, pretty much screws up anything Mommy and Daddy have tried to do.

So, Slim kept asking me if we could watch SpongeBob, and I kept saying no. Then came the response, "But so-and-so let me watch it!"

Oh DID so-and-so now?

My excuse to him was, Oh, too bad, it's TV Y7. Maybe when he turned 7, I promised. He was four at the time, so I figured he would forget.

Oh no. The day he turned 7, he wanted to watch SpongeBob. And stupidly, I gave in. I mean, how could it be so bad? It had a catchy theme song, after all.

Honestly, I find almost all of the characters deplorable:

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Patrick Star=lazy, ignorant, slovenly, immature, clueless

Mr. Krabs=greedy, uncaring, shady business practices
Pearl=disrespectful, unconfident, bratty
Squidward Tentacles=arrogant, cold, unfeeling, bigoted
Plankton=thieving, conniving, selfish, Napoleon complex
Townspeople=rude, unfeeling, paranoid, sheep-like

The only other character that has any redeeming qualities at all is Sandy Cheeks. She is a karate chopping, rodeo riding, scientist who lives without fear or limits. She is the ultimate in girl power!

Except for the fact that she did call SpongeBob "Idiot Boy" once. Which, I guess, really does make her a true girl. <sad trombone>

However, a careful, two-year-long study of SpongeBob himself revealed something startling: SpongeBob actually has some qualities that I'd like my kids to emulate!

No, really, it's true. Here are the qualities my research has found to be acceptable:

1. Work ethic. SpongeBob is a fry cook at a greasy burger joint with a dishonest, slave driving boss, rude customers, and an insufferable co-worker. Yet, he loves going to work every day! There's something we don't have enough of - people who are willing to do sucky jobs and be happy about it. People who take pride in their work and who are willing to be "yes-men" with little to no recognition for the grunt work they do are in short supply these days.

2. Enthusiasm. Whether it is flipping crabby patties, jellyfishing, or digging a wishing well for Mr. Krabs and sitting in it all night long, SpongeBob does everything with the enthusiasm of a toddler at an all-you-can-eat Goldfish buffet.

3. Positive attitude. Along with his enthusiasm, SpongeBob's positive attitude goes a long way toward motivating his friends and the townsfolk. Who doesn't love to tune in on time to see yet another one of his passionately misguided motivational speeches?

4. Loyalty to his friends. No matter how many times Squidward tells SpongeBob to buzz off, SpongeBob keeps on keeping on the friendship train to Squidward town. In fact, he wants to please his friends so much, he once ran himself ragged while trying to plan Patrick's birthday party, help Sandy present her new scientific discovery to her colleagues, and help Mr. Krabs build a telescope. Who wouldn't love that kind of loyalty in a buddy?

5. Love of animals. SpongeBob is kind to all creatures. He adores his pet snail, Gary, and treats him better than most people treat their own children. But he has also gotten his heart wrapped up in jellyfish, a seahorse named Mystery, and a pregnant worm. Someone send this kid to veterinary school!

6. Imagination. This really has to be the little yellow quadrilateral's best quality. He and Patrick can make almost anything into a game, find fun in any task, and use their imaginations to keep them occupied all day long. They once played so vigorously with a plain cardboard box, that even the unflappable Squidward was motivated to find out what was inside. (Spoiler alert: nothing but their imaginations!)

7. Willingness to forgive and forget. Who else in the entire world could allow himself to be treated like a doormat by his friends, coworkers, boss, and townsfolk, and keep coming back for more? Ready? SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS! That's who.

8. Ability laugh at himself. Laugh, and Bikini Bottom laughs with you. Cry, and they still laugh at you.

9. Determination. After all, jellyfish don't catch themselves.

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So the next time your kids are just begging to watch SpongeBob, don't be so quick to dismiss it as worthless, rude garbage.

After all, if Junior aspires to be a child-like adult working a minimum wage paying job while hanging out with losers who constantly degrade him, this is definitely the show for him!





*Please note: In this post I do not mean to degrade child-like adults or spongy yellow invertebrates. They are both lovely to know. And I really do think that the character of SpongeBob has some redeeming qualities. But then I realized how ridiculous that sounded.

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A Boy Mom Analyzes Disney's "Frozen"

Last December, Hubby's wonderful sister (also known as Aunt-of-the-Year) took our boys and a group of their cousins to see "Frozen" so that the parents could have some time to go Christmas shopping. The boys had a great time, liked the movie, and that was the end of the story.

Except now, Frozen is EVERYWHERE, especially with the release of the DVD last week.

Many moms are talking about it on their blogs, parents are already lamenting about costumes for next Halloween and swapping tips on how to throw Frozen-themed birthday parties, viral knock-offs of the movie's most popular song are everywhere, bloggers are analyzing the movie and GAH!! Enough already!

But we were at Costco last weekend, and there was "Frozen" available for sale. The boys wanted it, I wanted to see it, and we love movie night at the Frog house; so it ended up in our cart and in our DVD player that night.

Oh. My. Goodness, you guys. I have officially been . . .Frozen!!

I usually use movie night as a chance to get caught up folding my mountains of laundry, but I couldn't keep my eyes off the screen. I loved the songs, I loved Anna's strength and perseverance, and I love, love, loved the ending!! So NOT typical Disney.

Of course, there were typical Disney elements in this movie - beautiful princesses with huge eyes, long hair, and teeny tiny waists whom every girl will want to be, highly marketable characters that appeal to both genders, and boy-based humor in the form of secondary characters for the brothers who get dragged to this movie with their sisters. **SPOILER**  The parents die early on leaving the girls orphans and there is a villain, although an unlikely and surprise one (that I personally did NOT see coming).

It's all here and more. I can now totally see why it has won all the awards and garnered all the hype.

Plus, there are some lessons in the movie that I'm hoping my boys have noticed in the three times we have watched the movie this week:

1. Girls can be smart, strong, confident, and beautiful all at the same time. Anna refuses Hans's help when she decides to go after Elsa. She is sure she can do it on her own, and we're sure she can, too.

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2. When a girl does ask for your help, she wants it to be on her terms. We're sure she can do it until her skirt gets frozen and she realizes she can't make it up the mountain without help. But she has her own money and her own plan, and Kristoff can't help but to comply.

3. Sometimes, when girls wear certain clothes or look a certain way, it's just because it makes them feel good. Several girl moms are up in arms about Elsa's "sexified" look at the end of Let It Go, which I totally understand (says the boy mom who judges the inappropriate skirt lengths of girls during Sunday mass). But Elsa sings that she can now finally be who she wants to be. There is no one in her ice castle but herself, so clearly she's not trying to be sexy for anyone. Boys need to know that the way girls dress is not always about boys. It's about girls wanting to feel good. And sometimes that's okay (but it's also a really fine line).

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4. Don't be the jerky guy who tries to win a girl over in one day (or night). Sometimes those douche bags win; but most of the time they don't. **SPOILER** Hans ended up in jail, and his modern-day frat bros end up in cheating scandals and divorce court with alimony payments.

5. Humor, boyish charm, loyalty, and kindness ALWAYS get the girl. Always.

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6. Don't try to understand or break the bond between sisters and women friends. It always prevails. Just let the women have their time together, and don't try to figure out why or what they're doing. Take your reindeer black lab and go ice fishing and come back to a happier woman and a happier you.

7. Women don't NEED men to be happy. Oh geez, this has so many levels. It's nice when you have a connection with someone, but don't try to force it. Sometimes a girl is perfectly happy just hanging out with her friends.

8. Siblings always have each other - through good and bad times. Anna never gave up on Elsa, even when it looked like Elsa had given up on her. Create that bond and keep it sacred.

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I'm sure I will think of more lessons my boys can learn from Frozen in the next 20 times we will watch it, but these should do for starters.


If you're a boy mom, what do your boys think of this movie and how would you break it down for them?


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The Search for Joy

Ever since the diagnosis and death of my son, Joey, from cancer, it has often been a struggle for me to find joy in my daily life. Some days I just want to curl up and die myself, to be quite honest.

There have been times that I have isolated myself from friends and family because things are just too hard.

There have been times when I have been a negative, vicious, screaming mess toward my family.

There have been times I have just wanted to lie around and do nothing.

But there are times that the joy creeps in. Joy seems to have a way of doing that. It starts out as a tiny ball of light seeping through a crack until it gets bigger and wider and more brilliant than you can imagine.

It is the smile on the face of a nine-year-old who has just won his grade level geography bee.

It is the laughter of an eight-year-old who is at the movies with his friends.

It is the excitement of a kindergartner who has just learned to spell a word.

It is in the tight hug of toddler who has his arms wrapped around your neck.

And it is in the voice tone of a husband who finally got some time alone with his wife.

Even in a family like mine who is grieving and feuding with each other on what seems like a daily basis, we have our moments of joy.

  

In the midst of all the craziness of life, what brings you joy?
 

I'm A Mom of the Year!

I am absolutely thrilled to be a guest today over at my friend Meredith's blog, The Mom of the Year. She is one of those people I have gotten to know online that I cannot wait to meet in person.

She is sweet, funny, and most importantly - real. Her blog name is kind of an oxymoron. She will be the first to admit that she does not have it all together; but with her darling little family, she does have it all. You may remember her from her guest post here about a month ago called In with the Cool Crowd.

She is inviting guests to a series of posts called - drum roll . . .

Aww, shucks. My first real trophy for this lifetime gig.

I'm over there today talking about how it took that certain tragic event in our lives for me to realize that I didn't have to be a perfect mom; heck, I didn't even have to pretend anymore.

 

Well, what are you waiting for? Head over to The Mom of the Year to read Moms of the Year: In it Together.

 

Look around a bit while you're there. I guarantee you'll love Meredith's blog!