Goodbye Barney

It is the end of an era.

My girls are both officially over Barney, the big purple dinosaur.

I'm surprisingly sad about this.

Barney was such a staple in our house for so many years.

I know a lot of people hate Barney with the passion of a thousand purple suns. I get that.

But we liked Barney. He taught manners, he was soft spoken and kind to the new kids. He encouraged using your imagination. He thought art and writing and telling stories was a great way to pass the time on a hot afternoon.

Alyssa became enthralled with Barney when she was just under two years old. She watched him faithfully until she was about three and a half.

Olivia followed suit, enjoying a half hour of Barney every single day. In fact, during her worst travel days, Olivia could only be soothed by my singing Barney's song, "IF All the Raindrops were Lemon Drops and Gum Drops." That song got us through hundreds of miles of travel.

I think O would have been willing to give him up sooner but Jaxon kept her in the Barney loop. But now he's three and a half and so, the whole family is saying goodbye to Barney.

I have a bunch of Barney vhs tapes and dvs to give away. Luckily, my cousin has a twenty-month-old daughter, just the right age to discover all the great things Barney has to offer.

My babies are growing up. Today, they're moving beyond Barney, tomorrow, they'll be heading off to college.

Hold me.