That's Gotta Hurt

Ted's favorite show to watch right now is a DVD I got him for Christmas--Tom & Jerry's Greatest Hits. As Alan puts it, it's obvious Teddy got the cartoon gene from me. I have always loved cartoons, Warner Brother's being my favorites, but Hanna Barbera (makers of Tom & Jerry) are great too. My absolute favorite Hanna Barbera cartoon character is Droopy the dog.

Anyway, you might remember that Tom & Jerry got pretty violent in their shananagins, like getting parts of them cut off, eating non-edible things & shattering their teeth, & blowing each
other up with dynamite. Teddy usually lets out a series of yelps when they get crazy & jumps up & down in front of the TV, stimming. But, after watching the same DVD about 30 times (I kid you not!), he's calmed down a bit. He'll just sit in his chair & say, "Ow. That's gotta hurt."

Neither Alan or myself taught Teddy that phrase, & it took some deep thinking on my part to figure out where he got it from. And then it hit me--The Madagascar Penguins' Christmas Caper. There's a part where a whacked-out old lady smacks a doorman with her very large purse, thereby knocking said doorman to the ground. As he pulls himself up he says--you guessed it!--"That's gotta hurt."

Yes, I know, I'm not a good mother cause I'm letting my child watch violent cartoons. But you know what? I don't care. I've talked with Teddy about when Jerry hurts Tom, about how it's not real & if you really hurt someone that way they'd have to go to the hospital (or worse). He understands. He gets it. And you know what? Tom & Jerry is damn funny. It's something I can watch with him & laugh at with him. I'm glad he inherited the cartoon gene from me.