It's in the genes

"Scary! I don't want the red monster to say 'hi' to me!" Evelyn lowered her head, so as to partially disappear, but raised her eyes-- they were fixed on the red monster (Elmo, to Sesame Street grads and fans) who was making his (or her?) rounds at the outdoor plaza on Chris' work campus. There was also a bouncy house set up for kids and so little ones were running around and smiling and taking pictures with Elmo. It was a "Family Friday" event and I brought Evelyn and Henry in to meet Daddy for lunch. We were not having the best morning, so I hoped that this outing might turn things around for us.



Even when we were seated for lunch, Evelyn kept twisting around in her seat to keep her eye on the monster. We explained that there was a person inside of the monster costume and we all observed that the monster looked awfully friendly. We told Evelyn we could just watch from afar and that she did not have to talk to the monster. By the time lunch was over, Evelyn announced that the red monster was "very friendly" and that he was "being friendly and nice to the kids." She still had no interest in taking a closer look and I did not press her on this. As a child, I was terrified of costumed characters. I clung to my parents for dear life when a character passed us at Disneyworld and, instead of running toward the candy-throwing clowns, I kept a very low profile at parades. Maybe "fear of fully costumed people" is a hereditary trait?