How Sesame Street shaped my life

Do you remember Sesame Street?  The original, before Elmo became the center of the universe.  The good old days of Bert and Ernie, Big Bird, Cookie Monster, Kermit, Oscar the Grouch, The Count and Snuffleopagus.

So many life lessons to be learned;

• there is the much talked about friendship and living arrangements of Bert and Ernie.
• the reporting skills of Kermit who would report live from the wall where humpty dumpty had fallen off the wall 
• how to get along with grumpy people from Oscar the Grouch 
• the hoarding issues of Oscar in his trash can home
• cookies are always the perfect food group and do not need to be eaten properly, the messier the better
• the gentle giant Big Bird who taught us how to take people and life at face value
• if you are ever in danger of forgetting how to count to 10 then The Count can remind you
• imaginary friends are perfectly wonderful companions (thank you Snuffie)

Two of the muppet friends from Sesame Street stick out in my mind.

     Cookie Monster which is has influenced so many avenue's of my life.  My love of baking cookies, eating cookies, sharing cookies- wait I don't think I learned to share the cookies from Cookie Monster, I must have learned that lesson from Mr. Rogers.  

    Big Bird, that lovable, childlike, 7 foot tall, yellow feathered bird.  Being 6 feet tall, I have been sensitive of the plights of the giant my whole life.  I have been tall since birth, always in the back of the rows in school pictures. Always hearing "don't worry honey, the boys will catch up" (to all you tall girls out there, don't believe the lies, it was college before the boys caught up.)  Constantly outgrowing clothing and wearing hi-water jeans and un-intentioned 3/4 sleeves.  Perfecting the art of the slump, standing with my hip pushed out to one side to appear shorter.  The lessons I learned from Big Bird go far beyond standing up tall even when you are the tallest in the room, they include being a good neighbor, always seeing the bright side of a situation and most importantly,  how a best friend (even an imaginary one) can help carry you through every situation that life hands out.