Tag: Thoughts

Theories on the ‘Surprise’ Child in Bluey

Posted on by keepinthesunlightblog@gmail.com

Spoilers!

Imagine our *surprise* when not only did we get a Bluey episode beyond the 28-minute ‘The Sign,’ but we also got a peek into the future of the Heelers!  (And possibly a peek into the future direction of the show?)

I knew adults like discussing their Bluey theories, but it wasn’t until I hopped online after this one that I realized just how invested the Bluey audience truly is.  Wow…  Uh, wow.

I think the biggest point I’d like to stress in the world of these Bluey theories (or ones of any book, movie, TV show, art, music lyric, etc) is that I love when a creator includes enough to give their audience meaning without giving a definitive answer or explanation.  And whatever thought or feeling or theory resonates with someone and gives them connection and meaning – that’s what matters.  To me, that’s true art.

If the Bluey audience wants it to just be a fun kids’ show – great.  If they want to fully dive into a complex analysis of each moment or close-up of the show – great.  The important dichotomy to remember is not only are these just theories, but they are also sometimes deeply meaningful to people.  The amount of self-righteousness and put-downs was eye-opening, for sure.  (I guess I haven’t spent a lot of time on forums…).  But, yes, like so many out there, I have my own thoughts on this final 4-second flash of a giggling child at the end of Bluey’s ‘Surprise’ episode.  So, with no podcast, YouTube, or forum desires, I’ll share them here – to my 10s of readers.

Theory #1 – (The one I least agree with, but the one that seems to be sending waves through the Internet)
The kid outside the door is Bluey’s.

Mackenzie’s or Jean Luc’s?  People went so wild guessing the father of this child, that it didn’t seem like much thought was actually given to the mother.  Again, just my opinion here, but I really don’t think this is Bluey’s kid.  But here are some arguments for and against:

Supporting this theory:
Bluey begins the episode by asking what it’s like to have kids.
-It’s the central question and it’s raised by Bluey, so I can see the line of reasoning – sort of (see ‘against’ thoughts)

Bluey is the one ringing the doorbell.
-Bluey is outside and just arriving and the kid is outside.

Bluey has been playing with the blaster and with Bandit during the episode, and we see a similar mischievous quality in the kid outside.

One person claimed, so I’ll put it here, that the ‘surprise’ was that Bluey didn’t seem likely to be the one to have kids and Bingo did, but it’s the reverse – surprise!

Ok, against this theory:
Bluey gets to see what it’s like to have kids during the episode, and from what I know about Bluey, it doesn’t seem likely that seeing her dad tumble to the floor, grasping at children, curled into the fetal position while being shot at would be a selling point on the whole parenting gig.

Bluey arrives unexpectedly (surprise!), but Chilli doesn’t ask Bluey about the whereabouts of a grandchild?
-I could see Chilli going along with a grandchild sneakily waiting for Bandit, for sure, but Chilli is genuinely surprised to see Bluey.  And this show has never shied away from little *wink* *wink* moments or ways of talking, which would probably have been the case.  I bet she’d want to at least get in a little hug or wink with her grandbaby.

Although Bluey is older, and people can have babies at different times of course, there is no evidence that Bluey is at a stage in life where she’d be having kids.
-The moving photos on the wall show a photo of Bluey’s graduation (from high school?)  My guess is that Bluey, the college student, is just swinging by to say Hello.

*Also, may I just add – As much as it’s cute to think about childhood friends having a future romance, I also think there’s too much emphasis on pairing kids up for their futures.  Let kids be friends without that added baggage.  It also makes many assumptions about gender and orientations before letting kids figure this all out on their own.  (And, I think this kid looks all heeler anyway.)

Theory #2 – (The one I was leaning towards in the beginning but have since changed my mind about…)
The kid outside the door is Bingo’s.

Supporting this theory:
Bingo is the one nurturing babies during the episode.
-We see throughout the whole episode that Bingo is the one who is caring for babies.  This is her focus and how she plays.

Bingo is already there.
-Whether Bingo lives at home or is also visiting, it would make sense that her kid would be there too.

Against this theory:
Chilli specifically tells Bluey where Bingo is but doesn’t mention Bluey’s niece?/nephew?

Bingo is out back.  I think she’s a teenager and hasn’t left home.
-I still think we’re at an earlier stage of “grown-up” Bluey and Bingo than people are theorizing.  Not that this doesn’t mean either could have a child, but I really think Bluey is a college kid popping in for a surprise visit.

In the rotating photos on the wall, Bingo looks like she’s on an adventure on Easter Island.
-Could have been at a different point in life, but doesn’t seem like she’s in mamahood stage.

Theory #3 – (Far-fetched, perhaps? but the one I’m gravitating towards the most)
The kid outside the door is Bluey and Bingo’s sibling!

Sounds a bit crazy, but here goes.  And, yes, I was ‘looking’ for moments to support this.

Supporting this theory:
Bluey surprises her dad during their play by popping out of the beanbag!
-Far-fetched perhaps, but felt very much like a surprise birth.  If fans are going to see the balloon-popping moment as a miscarriage, I don’t think this is that different.

Bandit keeps getting handed more and more ‘babies.’

At one point, Bandit brings 2 babies back to Bingo, and she points out he forgot one.  (On the beanbag! -see above)

While Bandit is falling through the air in the kitchen and Chilli is pointing out that THAT is what parenthood is like, Bandit is carrying 3 babies.

When Bandit is outside talking to one of the ‘babies’ about its siblings, Bluey connects to that and comes out of hiding.
-Bluey full-on says, “I’m her sister!”  (If this kid really is Bandit and Chilli’s 3rd kid, the answer is right there in the script!)

A ‘caboose’ baby would be quite a ‘surprise’ baby for Bandit and Chilli!

The long dog shown in the front hall right before the last scene is a similar coloring to the dog waiting outside.
-Foreshadow of a new main character??

*Since the 3rd baby forgotten by Bandit is named Copernicus (whose theory states that the planets rotate the sun) could it be a son??)

Against this theory:
While we don’t see all the rotating photos on the wall, there would probably be some of the new kid, right?

Even if Bluey had seen her sibling hiding outside, Chilli wouldn’t have known this and would have mentioned, ‘Bingo is out back and (your other sibling) is around here somewhere.’

My kids pointed out that the house looks too neat to have a child living there.
-But perhaps with only one young one and a teen, things are easier to keep tidy?

Bandit and Chilli would be older parents.
-If this scene takes place when Bluey is in college and Bingo hasn’t left home, it’s maybe 12 years into the future?  The kid is maybe 4 or 5?  Bandit and Chilli were supposed to be in their early 40s during the show’s regular timeline?  So, definitely not impossible, but this would be a late 40s pregnancy.

Chilli has glasses in the photo of Bluey’s graduation but different ones in the scene.

Theories #4,5,6, etc.
Perhaps the kid outside is someone else’s entirely.

-One of the cousins’ kids?
-A neighbor kid?
-Another of Brandy’s kids?
and on and on

The child does look VERY related to the family though.

My biggest guessing game is wondering whether this is the new direction of the show.  Will we be seeing Bandit and Chilli as they parent teens/young adults?  That would be interesting, but definitely not give the audience the same fun and make-believe elements.  Obviously, the new kid would provide a lot of that too, but would that be too risky for the fan-base?  Would we then see a lot of flashback episodes of different stages of childhood and parenting?  Are the voice actors playing Bluey, Bingo, and friends ‘aging out?’

Time will tell!  I’m almost positive my theories will change as a rewatch this and other episodes, but it was sure fun to search for clues to support or discount different guesses!

 

Other thoughts:
I do like that Bandit is straddling two very different parenting games in the episode – that of calm, gentle caretaker and that of fun, energetic, playful parent.  Interesting.

Ok, maybe those are gray hairs on Bluey and this is farther along than I’ve been trying to argue for?

 

 

Dear Diary – Do I Miss You?

Posted on by keepinthesunlightblog@gmail.com

I used to be a journal keeper.  It’s where I turned to process and reflect.  To deal with big questions and emotions.  It was my place to connect with “me,” and it was such a part of my life that I didn’t think much about it.  Until it stopped.

It was never a daily practice.  I definitely experienced many lulls and pauses in my journaling.  But nothing like recent years.  Granted, the timing of my lack of journaling does seem to coincide pretty much exactly with parenthood.  There have been seasons of these mama years when there just feels like no time at all.  And when I’ve crawled out of those times, journaling just hasn’t taken priority.  Since my life seems to be a never-ending game of picking what I’d like to be doing with it, this choice to not turn to journaling is interesting.  Does this mean I’m not prioritizing myself?  Am I not taking the time for a practice that used to help me find my center and feed my soul?  Or have I simply moved on to other ways of connecting?  These questions nag at me, and I let the idea that I haven’t journaled make me feel guilty.

In recent years there have also been some silly overthinking reasons for my journal hesitations – Are all these journals just more clutter and more to haul if we move?  What’s to become of these when I die – will they be a burden to somebody or something I’d rather someone not read?  It’s strange and deflating to think these questions would prevent me from journaling, but they’re there in my head.

Whenever I read or hear about writers and their daily writing practices, I get an ache.  Writing, whether it was school papers or journaling or letter writing or even texting, makes me happy.  I don’t know that I want to *be* a writer (whatever that means), and yet, here I am – writing this post.  So, I am a writer, am I not?  Is a writer someone who writes or someone who is read?  Either way, I came to a realization today that this, here, is my writing space.  It’s not exactly the same as a journaling process, of course, but it is still a place for me to write and reflect.  To ask questions and process some of what I’m feeling.  I love the idea that on a blog there is potential for my words to reach someone else and possibly give them a boost or an idea, but mostly I recognize this space as mine.  This is my 40-something journaling.

So, Diary, do I miss you?  Not really.  And I’m starting to feel okay with that.

 

 

A Bird Sings Because It Has a Song

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“A bird doesn’t sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.”

Is it a Chinese proverb?  Or as USPS claims, Maya Angelou?  Don’t know.  Don’t really care.  I love this quote.  It holds that ‘Gotta Sing, Gotta Dance’ at its heart, and I think I need to turn to it more often.

I’ve got a lot to say.  The flood of ideas I have to filter every day gets overwhelming.  And yet, as I type this and other entries, I feel a bit of an empty echo bouncing back to me.  (Granted, I have chosen to turn off comments, but that’s another post.)  I’m a paranoid Internet person, to be honest, but I have realized that being on the Internet is a bit like walking down a sidewalk, an ENORMOUS sidewalk, that includes just about everyone from the entire world.  Some will get noticed, some will get teased.  Some will fall prey to scammers, some will find their small, happy groups.  I am at once eager to write and share, (it’s in my heart and on my mind, and keeping it in starts to weigh on me greatly) while also feeling extremely shy about being ‘seen’ and read.  And some might say this is somehow energetically keeping me hidden.  Maybe.

I was always one to sort of float off to the side of the action.  In high school, I was neither popular nor teased.  I liked being mostly invisible.   At social gatherings, I’d always be the one off in the corner on my own or talking to a random wanderer who ended up near me.  I am the person who prefers small groups that include supportive, awesome people I love.  I’ve never sought fame or a huge number of followers.  But as I continue my blogging and other online journeys, I do have moments when I think, “Hey!  I’ve got something to say too!”  I’ve read some of the popular, star bloggers out there.  Some are great, and some are, well, not.  Eh, that’s life.  I love good stories of people getting lots of rejection letters before they’re finally published or noticed.  These are uplifting stories once the happy ending has happened, and I always thought if I had the guts to write a book, I’d have my own story of how I held out hope even as the rejections poured in.  But, I can see how tough that must be.  Here I am, blogging, mainly for my own need, really.  And still, I secretly want to be read and noticed.  That’s not so crazy, right?

But, somewhere between getting caught up in trying to remain hidden or trying to demand some attention, all I know is, I gotta write.

So, no, I don’t have an answer.  I don’t even know my question.  But, boy, do I have a lot of songs.

Happy Earth Day

Posted on by keepinthesunlightblog@gmail.com

Huzzah!  It’s April 22nd, which means it is Earth Day!  Considering I’m a passionate environmentalist, re-user, and (let’s face it) all-around tree hugger, I would think this day would be a huge celebration for me.  Instead, I tend to find myself overwhelmed every Earth Day.  I feel like I should be doing more.  More in my own life, more in my community, and more for our planet.  I completely get that this is not the point. At all.  But, that’s where I’m usually coming from on this glorious day of celebrating our planet.

So, this year, I got these two videos together.  I’ve been putting fears and questioning aside and making some YouTube videos about some of the ideas and thoughts I feel so excited about.  My YouTube journey is a whole other post, but for now, I’ll just say that making these videos felt really good.  It felt like a proactive step on this day when I usually feel, frankly, ineffective at making the changes I so desperately want for our Earth.  Don’t know if anyone will actually see them, but I’m learning that following what’s in my heart does a whole lot to make me feel good.  And since I, too, am part of this planet, well, Hey, I just made my small corner of the world that much better.  And that’s gotta count for something, right?

They Grow Up So…Slowly

Posted on by keepinthesunlightblog@gmail.com

Almost every parent you’ll ever hear from talks about how quickly their children grown up.  Or, they’ll quote the “days are long, but the years are short” bit.  But, as an “at-home,” homeschooling mama, I get to be with these lovely kiddos ALL. DAY. LONG. (plus nights).  Time doesn’t exactly fly.  Not to say I’m immune to the gut-wrenching, bittersweet feeling of our kids growing up.  Yes, of course, it’s wild to think about them as babies or toddlers and look at them now.  Yes, when I want to scream and pull my hair out and run away from them, my heart almost immediately aches at the thought of our limited overall time under the same roof.  But, I wouldn’t exactly say that their ages are whizzing by.  Other people’s kids?  Sure.  Even kids who are the exact same ages as mine, will lead me into mind-boggling disbelief when I realize how old they are or how much they’ve grown.  Friends’ kids, my siblings’ kids, celebrities’ kids?  Where did the time go?!  How are they so old??  But, my own little darlings’ timeline does not zoom by at the same rate.

Which is great, don’t get me wrong.  This time is an absolute blessing, and as frustrating as it can be at times, I seriously wouldn’t have it any other way.  But, because we’re in this unique position of spending so much time together, I just sometimes feel like I can’t relate to the tears of disbelief other parents might have upon their children’s birthdays or milestones.  I’m more like, “Wait, aren’t you already that age?  Cuz I really thought you were.”

So, I loved when a character from my favorite shows had this small, almost unnoticeable aside, while showing photos of her kids, saying, “They grow up so…slowly.”  And then I overheard the stay-at-home dad on Bluey say something to his daughter, like, “Aren’t you already six?”  And she assures him she’s not yet.  Yes!  Finally some parents who understand!  Maybe it’s a SAHP thing, because I also remember some lines from one of my favorite books, More Love, Less Panic that allude to this stretching of time that can happen with young children.  Maybe it’s because I’m given opportunities in my day to reflect on where the kids have been and where they’re headed.  Maybe it’s because I really, truly do NOT miss their baby/toddler stages AT ALL.  I don’t sit and weep over their old onesies.  Those were some of the toughest years of my life, and I am grateful to be past them.  But, whatever it is, it’s another of the zillion parent curses/blessings.  I’ll certainly cry and shake my head at this ridiculous post someday when my heart is aching at how much they’ve grown and how I don’t hear running and whining and screams of “MoOoom” from the next room.  I’ll always be grateful for this time I get to spend with our kids.  Even when this treasured time seems to c…r…a..w..l… by, minute by long minute.

 

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