The End of an Era
Last weekend my daughter, who’s six, asked me if I would take her adorable, hand quilted, bear family blanket off her wall and replace it with something she’s “into”.
She’s into Michael!
When I say she’s into him, I mean if we let her she would probably prefer to watch YouTube music videos every day. She rolls her eyes when her 5-year-old brother wants to watch Dino Dan and Octonauts, and sits patiently while she lets her 1-year-old sister pick Curious George and Daniel Tiger. She bides her time knowing soon enough her turn will come to pick a show and if she plays her cards right, we’ll let her pick MJ. The other two children cry in frustration. They don’t understand that their sister’s entire being is completely devoted to every move this musical legend makes. She is totally bummed when we ask her to pick something “everyone will enjoy”.
Watching Earth Song makes our neighbor’s kid cry, but she sits steadfast in front of the screen, absorbing every word, listening intently to the meaning, dissecting the destruction. The first time I watched the music video was probably the fifth or sixth time she had seen it. I was shocked by the graphic images and asked her if she had ever seen it before. She responded “Of course Mom, I watch all his songs.” Not terrified by the slaughtered animals, troops or tanks, deforestation and destruction; but concerned for the earth and the message MJ is sending.
Watching Thriller makes her move. She knows the choreography, she sings all the words, she is engrossed in it. She wants a zombie-thriller-bouncy-house at her next birthday party, and she’d like all the kids to dress like either zombies or an extra from the music video.
I’ve been living with an obsessed fan club member (she would freak out if she knew there was actually something called a fan club she could participate in) the last couple of months.
“Mom, Michael Jackson died!”
“Oh Mom, did you buy me a MJ jacket yet? You know, the Thriller one?”
“Mom, we gotta start getting ready for my birthday!!” (it’s six months away)
“Oh, that song is from when he was a kid! I’M a KID!!”
“Mom, that’s when he started singing all by himself.”
“Oh MOM! MJ died because his doctor gave him too much medicine. His doctor didn’t take care of him the right way. You should never take too much medicine! OK?”
“Oh, that’s the Thriller video, the best video EVER!”
“Mom, Michael is such a great dancer.”
“Oh Mom, did I tell you I want to have a Thriller birthday party?! You know that right?!”
So, when she received a commemorative Thriller poster as a gift last weekend, I could not deny her. She was so excited about it that she couldn’t even talk. She just smiled, as if a long time dream came true. When she got home, clutching her poster proudly, carefully showing her dad, she asked me to replace the bear quilt from her bedroom wall and hang the poster.
When I finished, I told her she could come look. She squealed, “You’re done?” skipping a little, she said, “Let me close my eyes and then put me in front of it, okay Mom?”
I walked her little body, eyes squeezed shut, in front of her first poster and told her, “Okay, open your eyes.”
She opened them and smiled with pride.
It’s official. I have a big kid now!
As for her one-year-old sister, whom she shares a room with, she’ll grow up a little faster. She said to me today, “Bye-bye bears. Dat’s Mikal Dadon”
So funny but a bit sad at the same time. They grow up so fast. Love her little sister’s comment at the end. That says it all!
Enjoyed this post but am so surprised that Maya even knows who Michael Jackson is at six years old. Tell her that even this 74 year old lady loved Thriller.(the music -not so much the video.)
Lucky you to have access to a whole new world through your daughter. And lucky (daughter) to have an open mom.