Bathtime and Sanjaya

My four year old, Spilly, is having a conversation with Sanjaya Malakar while sitting in the bath tub. He is squeaking in a high falsetto, and so is she. From what I can tell, they are discussing her plastic cow, who is wearing a stretchy squid toy around its waist. Every so often, I can hear things being thrown around.

All right, so Sanjaya is not actually in the tub. But he might as well be, because he is certainly talking up a storm in there. Spilly has quite a thing for Sanjaya, after meeting him by accident last year around this time, in our living room, well after bedtime. She'd wanted to see what we were doing. We were watching American Idol, and as the evil fates would have it, Sanjaya was performing at the time.

She stood in awe, clutching her stuffed pets Monty and Ribbon, obviously wondering why we hadn't told her that someone so marvelously talented came on television after she went to bed at night. After that, we taped an episode for her and she watched him perform over and over again (without watching the judges' commentary, of course, which might have spoiled the magic). She also started talking to him, and he began talking back. And singing, and dancing in our hallway. And having outrageous adventures, all of which Spilly requested in her reading chair at night, when the lights were out, as the last ritualized step in the long road to bed.

From the point of view of parental peace, we know we shouldn't have taped that first episode. We also know that we probably should not have driven our kid six hours into the USA in order to watch Sanjaya perform live, and should definitely not have purchased the Sanjaya poster and fridge magnet that adorn our house. The toy guitar and microphone were a big mistake as well.

And now, almost a year later, we are still paying the price, because we share our house daily with Sanjaya. He also comes with us in the car and probably hangs out in Spilly's junior kindergarten class too. Well, he and Buddha, and the Beatles, who are also favourites.