12 July 2006

How to Treat a Jellyfish Sting

Curious Girl had another fun day at the beach, but it ended with a jellyfish sting that had her in some discomfort--she was hopping up and down, crying a bit, saying "it's stingy! it stings!" The lifeguards told us to rub wet sand on it, so Politica did that, and we eventually sat down near the waves, building a little leg rest of wet sand so that she could rest the backs of legs on the wet sand and we could make guesses about which waves would actually get all the way up to us. Whether it was the sand or the distractions that helped, she started to feel a bit better, and was considerably cheered by the promise that when we got back home, she could watch a movie. And it turns out that what will really help someone (or at least a certain someone) with a jellyfish sting feel better is the Muppet Show.

This may come as no surprise to some readers of this blog, who are well aware of the general fabulousness of the Muppets. But it was really fun to snuggle into the couch and turn on The Muppet Show and watch Curious Girl start to giggle. (Great credit goes to Politica, who put dinner on while I tended the Muppetfest.) When Miss Piggy came on, CG looked very thoughtful and finally said, "Mama, she's so beautiful!" (side note: Politica came in and said, "OMG, she looks like WellKnown Grad Professor!") CG giggled, watched, asked questions, admired Liberace's jewelry, laughed at Lola Falana's outfit, and then at bedtime was full of questions about why Gonzo was looking for a new job and why Lola was singing him songs (I assured her that his new job in Bombay fell through, and he'd be back on later episodes).

Not bad, a vacation in a beach house with wonderful video library. Just the cure for jellyfish stings.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Aw, so sorry to hear about Curious Girl's jellyfish sting. I am terrified of jellyfish and won't go in the water if I see even one (VERY bad jellyfish experience at summer camp on the Chesapeake Bay many, MANY years ago).

But it's brilliant that you parlayed the suffering into a reason to watch the Muppet Show. (Not that you really need a reason...) Love her reaction to Miss Piggy (she is beautiful).

Anonymous said...

I love the fact that the Muppets are available for this generation. We have the DVD's of the first season and are very much looking forward to watching them with Miss K. Isn't it great how the stuff we really love stands the test of time?

Anonymous said...

Poor CG!

But I'm so glad that she enjoyed all things Muppet!

Mahna-mahna!

Anonymous said...

Poor CG! I hope she continues to feel better.

I used to have a Miss Piggy calendar, when I was nine or ten. And I agree: she is so beautiful!

Anonymous said...

I am terrified of the jellyfish sting. We go out to my in-laws on Hornby Island, and there are many jellyfish in the water...
I've been told you have to pee on a jellyfish sting.
BUT: the muppets are the best thing ever. John sort of sounds like Jim Henson, and we had Rainbow Connection as our wedding song. We're Muppets Doornobs.

Anonymous said...

Oh, I was just coming to say what arwen said: I've always heard that the right thing to do with a jelly fish sting is to pee on it. When I saw the title of the post, I thought for sure that's where this was headed ....

susan said...

Ha! You guys make me laugh. I was telling someone at dinner tonight (a yahoogroup meetup/playdate!) that Arwen had said the cure was pee, and my friend said "must have been a guy who thought of that one." I couldn't see letting loose on a public beach. And darn if CG hasn't gotten a lot better on her own former habit of peeing anytime anywhere, so she wasn't able to self-treat either. The wet sand seemed to do OK, although she was still complaining in the morning. So we watched some more Muppets.

Anonymous said...

Meat tenderizer is what I heard works on jellyfish stings. I think I used it when I was young and got stung. Poor sting-y girl! But yay for the muppetational consolation.

Anonymous said...

At least it wasn't a sea urchin -- you'd have to pee on her foot --

susan said...

Meat tenderizer? That's a new one for me. The naturalist on a boat tour we did yesterday said that pee works on sea urchin problems. Who knew? (well, inside the philosophy factory did! welcome!)

Anonymous said...

Am I the only person around listening to the Muppet Show on DVD (which we did all the way from Mosquito State to Redclay state, after I finagled it for my birthday) and thinking there's more or less a direct line from Kermit to Jon Stewart? Because I suddenly realized, somewhere around Indiana, that it was impossible for me to imagine contemporary humor without Jim Henson.

Glad it helped with the Jellyfish. Love the beach photos.

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