It's the Cookie Monster's Fault!

R & I were watching Sesame Street this morning while waiting around to take E to the dentist when the realization struck me. See, R has a habit of saying "me" instead of "I." Although I correct him constantly he continues to use "me" in place of "I." It's the only object pronoun that he uses incorrectly & it's driven me crazy for about a year now. I've wracked my brain trying to figure out why he kept on saying "me." I was beginning to wonder if a visit with a speech therapist was in order. Today, the reason why he does it finally dawned on me.

R loves Sesame Street as do I. His favorite character is Cookie Monster. He watches Sesame Street for the sole purpose of watching Cookie Monster eat cookies. There's just this one thing about Cookie Monster that I overlooked - he always uses "me" instead of "I." He always has. It's what he does. It's part of who he is. He's supposed to talk that way, bad grammar or not.

This morning, R said something and started his sentence with "me." I corrected him yet again. R, pointing at the blue furry monster hungrily chomping away on a cookie, said, "No. ME love Cookie Monster," at the exact same moment Cookie Monster was saying, "Me love cookies!" R, obviously feeling exonerated, turned to me, crossed his arms, and said, "see!" The realization struck like a bolt of lightning. "It's the Cookie Monster's fault," I yelled causing everyone in the room to jump and look at me as if I were insane.

Was I angry at the producers of Sesame Street for Cookie Monster's poor grammar? Did I write a letter blaming them for generations of poor writers? Did I ban the viewing of Sesame Street at my house? Of course not. Cookie Monster is cool. Today, R and he reminded me of some very important philosophies (ones I had forgotten while trying to be "perfect homeschool mom"): be who you are & don't sweat being perfect & cookies are good for you & it's perfectly o.k. to use "me" as the simple subject when you are either three years old or blue and furry.