The Wiggles Wish Me a Happy Birthday

So a few months back I did a series of two posts called "Choppers in Nam" about triggers that take me back to that awful time in my life when I was first realizing that Audrey had autism.  The first post was about the What to Expect - The Toddler Years book that mocked me with all of its "should be" milestones.

The second Choppers post was about various songs, books, and movies that take me back to that time.  But in that post I neglected to mention the Wiggles.  

Audrey was obsessed with the Wiggles when she was about 18 months to 3 years old.  She still listens to their CD's sometimes.  I even have a couple of them still loaded onto my iPhone for her, which can be quite disconcerting if I've got it on shuffle when I'm working out and that "Di Dicki Doo Dum" song comes on.  One of the CD's has skits in between each song that are treated like separate songs, so occasionally I'll get Murray or Jeff suddenly speaking in hushed tones in my ear:  "Do you like going to the park?  I really love parks."  Creeps the shit out of me.

Audrey at 20 mos, verklempt upon
seeing her heroes for the first time.

More so than the music, the TV show is what really takes me back.  I'm sure that Audrey would be perfectly happy to still watch it, but I don't even know when it's on and I've long ago deleted my TiVo catalog of every single episode ever made.  She used to watch them so much that I seriously knew them all by heart.  I knew, for instance, that I needed to stand at the ready to fast forward if the "Musical Quiz" episode was on, or any other one that featured Professor Singalotta Songa who she hated with a passion.

Also "Topsy Turvy" and "Anthony's Lost Appetite" were deadly because they both featured really long, boring skits and Audrey just wanted them to shut up and sing "Hot Potato" already.  Yeah yeah yeah, we get it...Anthony's really just not feeling hungry because he's already eaten too much...FREE BIRD!

We've seen them live twice, the last time being when Audrey was just 2 years old.  Which brings me to my point...I noticed that they are currently on tour with a show called "The Wiggles Big Birthday" and they are playing here in Chicago tomorrow...my birthday!  So when I saw the ad I naturally thought that they were throwing me a party in honor of all of the money I've wasted on their shows, CD's, and merchandise support we've given them over the years.

I sent for scrapbook paper and embellishments all the way from Australia.
Don't hate me because I'm lame. Well, actually, go on ahead.

But as it turns out, it's they who are celebrating their 20th birthday.  I hadn't realized that they'd been around for that long.  They're getting a bit long in the tooth for this shtick aren't they?  They'll be needing to retool some of their hits..."Can You Point Your Fingers and Do The Twist?  Not Since My Hip Replacement!"  Zing!  How bout "Big Red Buick LeSabre"?  Hoo hoo!  I kill myself.  I could go on but that's not why you called.

I am not going to the Wiggles birthday show tomorrow, July 30, the day of my actual birthday.  Instead I will be with my mother at our newest casino in Des Plaines, IL eating buffet and bitching about the lines at the nickel slots as befits a person of my age.