Tuesday Treasures #1: Kermit the Frog

Dear Loyal and possibly (by now) disturbed reader,

It has been a taxing week. In fact I would go so far as to describe it as being one of those weeks you wish you could forget about. I would go in further by saying that I wish I had a time machine and could travel back in time by fourteen days, find myself and quietly whisper into my younger self’s ear ‘My God Man, if you only take one piece of advice from me please, for both of us, skip over the next fourteen days. Here, take my time machine.’

Of course the problem here would be that I would be stranded fourteen days in the past without a time machine and my lucky past self would have travelled forwards in time, skipping over this miserable time. I, however, would then have to live through the god awful mess all over again.

Anyway, it’s hypothetical anyway.

———————————————————- note to editor: possibly delete the above copy before posting. Remind me to remind you later.

I came home from work to find my gorgeous wife taking photos outside and beginning what looked like another inspiring blog post over at her fabulous ‘Green_Ink’ website. Check it out, it’s fabulous.

The idea behind it is ‘Tuesday Treasures’ in which you pick something in your home and tell the story behind it. The idea of this project is to simply ground yourself with possessions you already have instead of constantly searching for new ones that you simply don’t need.

I have chosen my oldest and most favouritest teddy bear, Kermit The Frog. He is an official cuddly toy from the year 1976 during the time of the original Muppet Show and produced by Fisher Price. He is to this day the only accurate cuddly toy version of Kermit I have ever seen. The colouring, even now that he is in his thirty-fifth year, is like the Kermit you see on the telly! I loved him as a child and still love him now and go through sudden panic-attack moments of ‘Where’s Kermit?’.

He wasn’t always my Kermit. I was born in 1980, when this Kermit was 4! I have no idea of his history before we met but what I do know is that he ended up in Hughenden Valley’s Playgroup that resided in the town hall. My memory of this period is very clear but also vague. I have no idea how old I was, but I can only assume I was three years old.

Mum would drop me off and I would disappear into a world of chases, puppets, cartoons and other such magical creations all summoned inside my head. I loved going to Playgroup  because that’s where I played (and possibly hogged all day long) a Kermit the Frog teddy and a giant life-size puppet of the original Emu. The three of us were inseparable and Kermit was my most favourite toy EVER!

Then something tragic happened. I left playgroup.
Years went by and I always searched for my own Kermit but they all looked like ‘fake’ Kermits. The green of these imposter’s skin was lighter and their eyes were all wrong and his hands and feet were just too big. I searched hopelessly for years to no avail and I resigned myself to being Kermit-free for the rest of my life.

Then Mum and Dad were going to a party one night in 1985. As it happened it was at the town hall where my old playgroup used to be. As I remember I pestered Mum to at least ask if Kermit could be released from the bondage of the playgroup and into my loving care. I knew it would be fruitless to ask, but felt there was no harm in asking anyway. I remember going to bed sad, but annoyingly optimistic, a trait I stupidly haven’t grown out of (possibly because of this experience).

I woke up in the morning to find THE Kermit from playgroup sitting next to my bed smiling at me. Mum had asked and the lady who ran the playgroup and she actually told her that the kids didn’t play with Kermit so she was glad to give him away! I was the happiest kid in the world right there and then I’m sure.

Since then Kermit and I have been inseparable. We have moved house countless times and once in the late eighties, having read that he was wash-proof, even had a bath together! I still have him and even though he is not on display he comes out occasionally to comfort me. It seems highly appropriate that he should come out and be with me now.
It may sound a bit soppy to say this, but Kermit reminds me that it is important always to hope and look forward to things you want to do. If you want something badly enough and you are patient enough, then ultimately you will get it. That is certainly how my life has been and Kermit reminds of that part of me that I do forget about sometimes.

Myself & Kermit in 1986

Myself & Kermit in 2011

Possibly Interesting Fact: this blog post was written whilst listening to George Harrison’s ‘All Things Must Pass’.