SpongeBob.

I know what you’re thinking. After seeing the title of this blog post, you believe I have hit an all time low, and you are concerned for my wellbeing. You are probably thinking that I can resorted to blogging about Nickelodeon shows because I am fresh out of my own ideas. That is not the case. Bear with me. Please.

Each morning, my mother would wake my brother and I up at exactly 6:56 am. Tanner and I would sluggishly stumble into the living room with our polar fleece blankets. He would sit in the large brown recliner; I claimed the navy couch with the maroon pillows. Mom, who was always wide-awake, would ask what we wanted for breakfast. Tanner’s response was the same almost every day—Waffles (Eggo, of course). Being the indecisive child I was, I always needed mom to give me several options. Typically, I would go for either a bowl of Frosted Mini Wheats or toast with strawberry jelly, and a nice glass of orange juice.

Then, it started.

“Are you ready kids? Aye Aye Captain!

I can’t hear you… AYE AYE CAPTAIN!

Ooooo, Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? SpongeBob SquarePants!

Absorbent and Yellow and Porous is he! SpongeBob SquarePants!

If Nautical Nonsense be something you wish, SpongeBob SquarePants!

Then drop on the deck and flop like a fish! SpongeBob SquarePants!

SpongeBob SquarePants!

SpongeBob SquarePants!

SpongeBob SquarePants!

SpongeBob SquarePants!”

The theme song to SpongeBob would begin to play.

My mom would take a seat at the end of my couch.

Tanner would eat his waffles. I would eat my cereal.

And We would watch SpongeBob.

From the time I was a fourth grader to the time I graduated from high school, I began each morning with my brother, my mother, and my silly sponge friend. We would watch two 15-minute episodes, then at 7:30 am we would go get ready for school.

Please don’t think my mother was a bad mother because she allowed us to watch such “trash” before we went to school. Tanner and I loved the show. It was how we woke up. It was a part of our morning routine. To me, it wasn't trash. SpongeBob wasn't a bad guy. He didn't do bad things. He just was a goofy sponge who lived in a pineapple. I remember some of my friends weren’t “allowed” to watch SpongeBob because their parents thought it was a tacky show. I felt bad for them. Why? SpongeBob made me laugh—and anything that can make you laugh at 7am is well worth your time. We were about to sit in a classroom for the next 7 hours, so it was lovely to such a lighthearted and goofy show. 

That little spongey square dude could make me laugh regardless of how many times I had seen the episode. Each time he made Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy’s lives miserable, or ruined Pearl the whale’s prom, or joined a marching band that was going to play in the Bubble Bowl, or  said "Hi, howareya?" when he wanted so badly to be "normal", or accidentally got launched into space in Sandy the Squirrel’s rocket ship, or made a friend out of a bubble, or took days to deliver the one and only Krusty Krab Pizza, or went camping in his front yard with Patrick and attracted a sea-bear, or wrecked his boat time after time when he tried to get his driver's license with Mrs. Puff, or brought his seahorse named Mystery to work with him at the Krusty Krab, or fooled Larry the Lobster into thinking that he was a lifeguard, or denied Plankton of the secret ingredient to the Krabby Patty, or slipped on an ice cube after finally getting in to the Salty Spitoon, or gets stuck in a treehouse, or fed Gary the snail, or spent all day looking for his name tag, or was scared to death by the hash slinging slasher, or thought Mr. Krabs was a robot, or went jelly-fishing with Patrick the Starfish, or annoyed the heck out of his neighbor Squidward, I laughed. We all laughed out loud.

Occasionally, Nickelodeon would change up their TV schedule and would show a different show at 7:00 am, and Tanner and I would be so mad. Why change something that worked? Especially when SpongeBob was funny and apart of our morning routine! We would change it up from time to time when the episodes were repetitive, but we always seemed to go back to our dear friend Mr. SquarePants. Shoot, my best friend Kelsey and I even went and saw the SpongeBob Movie in theaters. Not only were we super dedicated fans, but also "goofy goobers."

I’m in college and live on my own now. I typically watch the Today show in the morning so I can see the weather. I miss SpongeBob, though. I miss his annoying laugh, his classy outfit, and terrible jokes. I occasionally flip the channel over to my the silly little cartoon with all of my favorite Bikini Bottom gang, just to make me smile before I start my day.

You may think I’m crazy for my appreciation for a TV show, or maybe you too are a fellow SpongeBob lover. (It’s okay to admit it…) I wouldn’t trade my mornings for anything, though. I loved watching my favorite show with my favorite people before we went to school. It started my day off right and made my morning a bit more enjoyable. Time spent together as a family, regardless of what you are doing, is time that is not wasted. I hope that someday when I'm a mom, Lord willing, my kids and I can sit on the couch each morning and watch a silly TV show together as a family.