2.5 Years: “I had a Groundhog Day.
Groundhog Day 2011. I dragged my toddler, who wasn’t nearly as excited about Groundhog Day as I thought she should be, to the children’s library for a kitschy activity where little kids made groundhog puppets that poked their heads out of Styrofoam cups. She was one of many toddlers sitting boredly through the activity while their parents, essentially, did it for them. When it was completed, and when the librarians sang a song about Groundhog Day, my daughter’s face showed the amount of enthusiasm and excitement that you would expect from a cat with a bowl of spinach.
Groundhog Day 2011. I dragged my toddler, who wasn’t nearly as excited about Groundhog Day as I thought she should be, to the children’s library for a kitschy activity where little kids made groundhog puppets that poked their heads out of Styrofoam cups. She was one of many toddlers sitting boredly through the activity while their parents, essentially, did it for them. When it was completed, and when the librarians sang a song about Groundhog Day, my daughter’s face showed the amount of enthusiasm and excitement that you would expect from a cat with a bowl of spinach.
Despite my earnest
attempts to make her genuinely excited, I took her to an indoor playground
after our unremarkable adventure at the library. Then, seeing no more
excitement, we swung past the children’s museum to pass the time. She stared at
me blankly and unimpressed. Finally, I offered her a trip to visit her
great-grandmother up the road, who was always eagerly awaiting a visit from her
youngest relative.
When we got there, my grandmother’s face flashed a million shades of joy and she happily asked the toddler, “Have you had a good day, sweetheart?”
“No,” my daughter said, “I had a Groundhog Day.”
Since then, “just a Groundhog Day” has been my own internal synonym for an unremarkable, unexciting day. Sometimes we all have days that try to be exciting but, ultimately, are just Groundhog Days.
When we got there, my grandmother’s face flashed a million shades of joy and she happily asked the toddler, “Have you had a good day, sweetheart?”
“No,” my daughter said, “I had a Groundhog Day.”
Since then, “just a Groundhog Day” has been my own internal synonym for an unremarkable, unexciting day. Sometimes we all have days that try to be exciting but, ultimately, are just Groundhog Days.
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