I Heart Thomas the Train

Thomas the Tank Engine is huge in the Badger den.  When Big Brother Badger was about a year old, he received a Thomas train and a small wooden track set, and adored it.  He mysteriously called Thomas, "Bat-shlah!".  I fondly remember, when I was pregnant with Little Brother Badger, a Thomas Christmas DVD playing over and over in the month leading up to the holiday.  After LBB was born, we upgraded to a larger track set and table, adding more of the characters.  Little Brother Badger's name for Thomas was, "Dee-dee!".  We introduced Percy, and Henry, and James.  A little while later, we went on our first Day Out with Thomas as a family.  You should have seen the amazement of the Boy Badgers when they saw Thomas coming down the track, whistle blowing, and smoke curling into the sky.  We added Hiro and Toby and Salty the Diesel.  Now, Baby Badger is just as entranced as her brothers.  Of course, right now she mostly knocks over the track and bites the train wheels, but she always runs to the TV whenever hearing the Thomas theme song.  So far, she seems to be on track to actually come close to saying, "Thomas!".  Thomas is still the go-to show, the inspiration for hours spent at train museums, and the source of everyone's excitement when we see a train go by on the railroad tracks.

In my opinion, Thomas is good, clean fun.  Each story has a moral.  There are no frenetic flashes of light, or scary monsters or weapons.  I've heard Sir Topham Hatt referred to as a petty dictator by haters, but I like the ideas of respect and responsibility that I see promoted.  Team-work is emphasized, and all the engines love to have their bath.

But another reason I heart Thomas is because I secretly empathize with Thomas.  Thomas is excited, loyal, and eager to have fun, but makes lots of mistakes.  He usually goes into situations with the best of intentions, but always ends up screwing up.  There are people who have gotten up and left the room during a Thomas episode because they are so fed up with Thomas doing dumb things.  I usually smile and duck my head sheepishly.  I hope those people won't be so hard on me.

I tend to overspend my budget sometimes for no good reason, or forget that my husband really doesn't like marinara sauce, or end up making a bunch of family members irritated because I was trying too hard to make everyone happy.  I go into things with the best of intentions, and usually end up messing something up.  And it seems that the harder I try to avoid screwing up, the more screwing up I tend to accomplish.  I feel you Thomas.    

But, as we know, the stories end with Thomas showing his best effort and good heart and getting everything back on track again.  He makes it through thanks to his friends, his persistence, and his ability to avoid having his spirit damaged by criticism, both outwardly and inwardly inflicted.  Serious turn there, folks.  I'll let you know when I've made it through.