Christmas

Miss Piggy is My Hero: Why we should all be a little more Muppet

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I’ve always been a massive Muppets fan, from their original films through to one of my favourite films of all time, The Muppet Christmas Carol. It’s a family tradition and you all know how much I love Christmas. Picture my joy then when the news was released that this week there would be a new, original, episode of The Muppet Show released on Disney+.

Watching it gave me such joy. Miss Piggy is, after all my hero, but I started to try to think why? Why do The Muppets bring me such joy? What is it about them and their interactions that really speaks to me? Especially as I’ve been writing about the role of women in the work place recently, what is it about how Miss Piggy functions that I admire and wish I could channel more? Then I found this quote below and it felt so genuine to me.

When thinking about their traits more, I couldn’t help but come up with a fairly substantial list that made me want to be ‘more Muppet’ and I thought that in honour of their new moment in the sun I would share the list with you in case you want to join me on a Muppet adventure.

Self advocacy

I don’t care what you think of me unless you think I’m awesome. In which case, you are right

As a female scientist there have been more times than I can count when I wish I’d had the courage to speak up, be seen, and be heard. In fact this is one of my themes and aspirations to be braver about in 2026. Miss Piggy is never afraid to stand up and be counted. She knows her value, and she knows what she brings to the table. More than that she’s not afraid to let others know it and to hold them to account when they under value or under estimate her.

We are often trained that it isn’t a good look to be too confident, or come across as too challenging. That it is better to fit in then to stand out, and that standing out will only cause us trouble. Miss Piggy stands out proudly and isn’t afraid of the consequences of making her presence known. I wish that I too could hold my space without being worried about how others see me for doing so, and I too should maybe care a little less what others think of me.

Boundaries

One of my favourite parts of The Muppet Christmas Carol is when Kermit negotiates for Christmas Day off work:

Mr Cratchit (Kermit): Mr Scrooge it appears to be closing time.

Mr Scrooge: Very well. I’ll see you at 8.00 tomorrow morning.

Kermit: Tomorrow’s Christmas.

Mr Scrooge: 8.30 then.

Kermit: If you please Sir. Half an hour off hardly seems customary for Christmas Day.

Mr Scrooge: How much time off is customary Mr Cratchit?

Kermit: Uh. Why. Um. The whole day.

Mr Scrooge: The whole day! – The entire day?

Kermit: If you please Mr Scrooge, why open the office tomorrow? Other businesses will be closed. You’ll have no one to do business with. It’ll waste a lot of expensive coal for the fire.

Mr Scrooge: It’s a poor excuse for picking a man’s pocket every December the 25th. But as I seem to be the only person around who knows that… Take the day off.

There are moments like this time and time again in The Muppets, be they in the movies or on the small screen. Moments where they gently but firmly set boundaries. Boundaries on good behavior. Boundaries for each other. Boundaries linked to kindness, both to themselves and others. Kermit holds a quiet confidence that permits him to set boundaries that protects both himself and others, without making drama or conflict out of the act. As someone who struggles to say no, and protect her well being on occasion I admire this so much.

Loyalty

The Muppets are a family. They have disagreements. They consist of very different personalities. Yet they love each other unconditionally, and always turn up for each other when it matters. Their love and loyalty isn’t transactional. It’s not performative. It’s the kind of loyalty I look for in those people who are my ride or dies. The ones who would take a call from you at 3 in the morning, just because you need to make it.

They have the kind of loyalty to each other in a work space that allows them to disagree, to argue about the order of the set list, but also lets them arrive at a moment where they all pull together for the absolute best they can achieve as a group, which is always better than any of them could achieve alone. I count myself so lucky to have an IPC team where I feel like we are always there for the finale together.

Respect without hierarchy

I don’t do hierarchy, I don’t do respect just for the sake of it. For The Muppets, Statler and Waldorf are the epitome of that approach, they are there to remind people that there is always a reason to laugh at ourselves, and not to get too caught up in position or reputation.

Waldorf: Well, you gotta give them credit
Statler: Why’s that?
Waldorf: Well, they’re gonna keep on doing it till they get it right

Although The Muppets have big personalities, and a leader in Kermit, that leadership is quiet and is not based on titles. It’s based on respect for how he handles situations and the relationship capital he has built. Miss Piggy may run wild, but always pulls back just in time because of her respect and love for him. Mr Girlymicro is very much a Kermit like personality, and it’s one of the many reasons why being married to him makes me a better person. He knows when to call me on my shit, and I respect him enough to hear it.

Living in the moment

I’m a planner. I have a ten year plan. I have a plan for the next 10 minutes. All of that planning can mean that I lose sight of the now. I can struggle to ever truly be in the moment. I love the fact that no matter the chaos that features in a Muppet episode, they can come together in the moment to experience the true joy of achieving a goal or being in each others company. They are aware of the challenges that the future holds, but are able to still live in the moment and enjoy the now. Be that for a musical number, or to cheer each other on. It is so easy to let the now pass whilst aiming for a better future, when really there is a lot to be said for enjoying the moment that you are in.

Appreciation of the good things

Living in the moment brings me onto appreciating the good things. One of my very early experiences as the UK Ambassador for the Society of Healthcare Epidemiology of America was to attend a conference held in, of all places, the Contemporary Hotel at Disney World in Florida. I’d never been to Disney before. In fact I’d never considered going, but I was paid to go and that meant I could also take Mr Girlymicro, and Mel (my science work wife).

It happened to be Star Wars weekend, and I had a whole day where I could explore and make memories with people who mean a lot to me. In those days a mock up of The Muppet Theatre was there, along with The Muppet courtyard. The three of us made some wonderful memories, and had so much fun. That ride is no longer there, and there has not been another conference held there. If I hadn’t decided to try something I’d never done before I would never have become the Disney fan I am today. If I hadn’t been on that ride and to that place, I would never have had the opportunity, as I’ve not been back to Florida and The Muppet Theatre closed last year. The Muppets embrace all there is in life, and sometimes I have to remind myself to do the same.

Give permission to feel

One of the other things that I love about The Muppets is that they express all of the emotions. Miss Piggy expresses both love and rage. Kermit exhibits leadership and frustration. Fozzy expresses bravery and self doubt. None of them are perfect, nor do they try to be. They have songs about joy, but they also have songs about heartbreak and sorrow, and don’t try to hide from either. They travel the gamut of human emotions and don’t try to claim that one is more valuable than another. I think sometimes it is important to be reminded that it is OK to not be OK. We can’t have it together all the time. Occasionally it is alright to sit on your lily pad in a state of ennui, as long as you also know that at some point you have to get up, dust yourself off, and get back in the fight.

Embrace complexity

Born out of that acceptance that all emotions matter, or maybe because of it, is the fact that The Muppets accept and demonstrate complexity. Miss Piggy is a strong independent pig who still loves a frog with all of her heart. Kermit has a quiet confidence that emanates, but is still easily overwhelmed and loses that central calm. They show that none of us is just one thing, nor should we aim to be.

I may be the person who has published >40 scientific papers, but I’m also the person who got locked in her own bedroom recently as she couldn’t get the door nob to turn. Competence in one area does not equal competence in another. I can be someone who loves reading about the history of the Silk Road, and also someone who enjoys watching Below Decks or Love is Blind. No person is all good, or all bad, and this is especially important to remember in a leadership context. There may be people that we don’t understand how they think, or their processes, but that doesn’t make them bad it people, it just makes them different, and we should embrace that difference as variety makes the whole better.

Fearless in response to challenge

Every Muppet episode or film is always centred around challenge, there would probably not be much plot otherwise. The challenge is often insurmountable, or at least incredibly intimidating. There’s a reason they will all need to come together to overcome it. The amazing thing, to me, is that they never waste a lot of time bemoaning the challenge, they just get on with it. They don’t ever really consider what will happen if they don’t succeed. They don’t waste energy on fear or overwhelm. As someone who wastes a LOT of energy in catastrophising, and in fearing failure, I really do think this is an area where I need to be more Muppet. They have such faith in each other to carry them through, even when they lose faith in themselves. Being a little more task rather than ‘what if’ focused would certainly help me.

Refuse to be defined by others

One of the reasons The Muppets weather any storm is that they know who they are and don’t let others define them. It is so easy to be a passive passenger in our own lives. Humanity works based on silo’s and putting each other in boxes, and it is sometimes easy to go along with those definitions that used by others for us. One of the things this blog has gifted me, is that I feel much more comfortable defining myself and my own narrative than I did for the first decade of my career. Finding your voice may not be the easiest process, but it one that is worth investing in as early as you can. Define yourself so that others have a harder time doing so on your behalf.

Defy convention

When we let others define us, we also let them limit us. The Muppets defy convention. They say that you can be anything you want to be. The Muppet Babies encourages you to dream. The Muppet Christmas Carol encourages you to be kind and to value things outside of the conventional, and a Muppet Treasure Island tells you it’s OK to be a pirate. All joking aside, Miss Piggy shows that ambition is not a dirty word. Why not dream of being a pop star? Why not aim to win an Academy Award? Why not dream bigger than we’ve been told we are allowed, rather than believing being told to think small. Aspirations are not a bad thing. Miss Piggy works hard towards her dreams, even if they never fully happen. It shows us that it is the journey rather than the gateway or the destination that is most important. Judging ourselves on what we learn rather than attaining tick boxes is something that we could all benefit from embracing.

Anyone can be a scientist

Finally, I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t mention how much joy Bunsen and Beaker bring me. No, I don’t ever want to work in their lab. No, I’m not sure they comply with any health and safety guidance ever written. They do however completely change how people normally see scientists. They are not distant. They are not ‘other’, other than being puppets. They have joy in their work. Things go wrong, regularly, and yet they are always there the next week trying something new. They embody the joy of exploration, well at least Bunsen does, I think Beaker probably needs some time off to recover. In a world where science is either vilified or portrayed as being undertaken by people so intellectual we can’t envisage knowing them, The Muppets still being me joy by offering a grounded view of the joyful chaos that being a scientist can bring.

The truth of it all, even if we learn nothing else from them, is that The Muppets tell us that if you are doing what you love everything will find a way to being OK.

As for Miss Piggy, I salute you! Let me know how I can be as stylish as you!

All opinions in this blog are my own

Merry Christmas One and All

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Scrooge was better than his word. He did it all, and infinitely more; and to Tiny Tim, who did not die, he was a second father. He became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man, as the good old city knew, or any other good old city, town, or borough, in the good old world. Some people laughed to see the alteration in him, but he let them laugh, and little heeded them; for he was wise enough to know that nothing ever happened on this globe, for good, at which some people did not have their fill of laughter in the outset; and knowing that such as these would be blind anyway, he thought it quite as well that they should wrinkle up their eyes in grins, as have the malady in less attractive forms. His own heart laughed: and that was quite enough for him.

He had no further intercourse with Spirits, but lived upon the Total Abstinence Principle, ever afterwards; and it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us! And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God bless Us, Every One!

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Merry Christmas everyone, wishing you all love and laughter and excessive amounts of good cheer!

All opinions in this blog are my own

Merry Christmas One and All

girlymicro General , , , , , ,

Scrooge was better than his word. He did it all, and infinitely more; and to Tiny Tim, who did not die, he was a second father. He became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man, as the good old city knew, or any other good old city, town, or borough, in the good old world. Some people laughed to see the alteration in him, but he let them laugh, and little heeded them; for he was wise enough to know that nothing ever happened on this globe, for good, at which some people did not have their fill of laughter in the outset; and knowing that such as these would be blind anyway, he thought it quite as well that they should wrinkle up their eyes in grins, as have the malady in less attractive forms. His own heart laughed: and that was quite enough for him.

He had no further intercourse with Spirits, but lived upon the Total Abstinence Principle, ever afterwards; and it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us! And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God bless Us, Every One!

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Merry Christmas everyone, wishing you all love and laughter and excessive amounts of good cheer!

All opinions in this blog are my own

It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year: Why I love the festive season and all that comes with it

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For regular readers of this blog, the fact that I adore Christmas probably comes as no surprise. It contains everything I love, time with people I care about, movies, heaps of romance, and an excuse to indulge in lots of lovely food and drink. I’m not religious. I embrace the shamelessly commercial, and I dive right in. I make Christmas puddings the week after Halloween. My Christmas tree gets delivered on the last weekend in November, and from that point on I’m full blown carols and Christmas cheer for as long as I can get away with. So, in this, my last post before Christmas, I wanted to share all of the reasons why I love it and explain, even as someone who won’t be at church on Christmas Eve, all of the benefits I think the season can provide!

Time for reflection

Number one on my list (that’s definitely not hierarchical) is the fact that this time of year encourages me to spend some time on active reflection. I spend so much of my working life in responsive mode and fire fighting, that it can feel like I achieve nothing and go no where. When looking at what I need to close off before the end of 2024, I am also trying to take some time to actively reflect. What did I actually achieve? What went well? What have I learnt, especially from the things that didn’t go so well? What do I want to take with me in terms of life lessons and priorities into 2025? Almost more important, what do I need to let go off? What baggage am I leaving in 2024 in order to leave me with room for grow moving forward? This is the time when I review what’s happened, take both the learning and the good, and leave the rest in the frozen tundra so it doesn’t start to define me or weigh me down.

Time to review progress

As the nights draw in, I, like most of us, desperately try to close off some of my outstanding work list. I am, therefore, almost forced to give some of my focus into what that list will look like going into the next year. The thing that I’ve tried to do is to review whether things that are going to roll into 2025 are a) still needed or b) still serve me in my direction of travel. There are always going to be jobs that are still needed and not optional (so many apologies for not getting these done in 2024), but there are other goals, such as writing an environmental IPC textbook, were worthy of review to see if they were still something I wanted. If you are wondering the answer is yes to both the textbook and the book of this blog, both of which fell by the wayside due to limitations in capacity in 2024. I refer to this period of activity as my Christmas mental cleansing, and I find it both a helpful and comforting process that can be undertaken under a blanket with a warm cup of tea. This is also the time where I make an active choice to celebrate my successes and forgive myself for everything else.

Time for joy

Another of my favourite things at this time of year is to give myself permission to make time for joy. It’s probably no surprise to anyone that my life is pretty work heavy and there isn’t a lot of space for downtime. At this time of year I have a list of things that bring me joy that I actively schedule in and am determined to find time for. Christmas movies make up a lot of this. Watching a Muppet Christmas Carol, either on Christmas Eve or when decorating the tree. Sobbing to Love Actually and Serendipity as I take a moment to remember happy times with my sister. Indulging in the delights of spending time with my husband whilst watching Die Hard, which is a Christmas movie, on Christmas Eve. Carols whilst cooking and sitting together to highlight the Christmas Radio Times. There is never enough time to do all that I would wish, but these stolen moments make my soul feel lighter and instil every day with an extra level of joy that means I value every single single hour in the run up to the main event.

Time to indulge

OK OK, I acknowledge we all need to be healthier. I’m aware that I do not ‘need’ another cocktail, piece of chocolate, or an extra roast potato, but I am a lover of all things food and sparkling, so what’s a girl to do. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t just indulge in edibles, I also indulge in Christmas experiences, like theatre shows and more shopping than is probably good for my bank balance. I usually don’t like crowds or areas with lots of people, Christmas is the exception. I love the buzz, the feel of the atmosphere and lights whilst carols play in the background. For me, even the provision of time to shop that isn’t time restricted and just has plenty of browsing time without any time pressure built in is an indulgence. It’s a time where I allow myself to prioritise enjoyment and experiences, not just tasks. For me it’s about, for a short while, experiencing the joy of living in the moment and what it feels like to live a life without a deadline.

Time for family

It shouldn’t count as an indulgence, but sadly sometimes I am aware that I can be so focused on work and task that I forget to make room for the most important thing in my world, my family. I’m aware that I am really fortunate to have such a great relationship with my family, but I also include here the family we have by choice, not just by blood. In general my family put up with a lot; lateness, lack of focus, even the odd missed event. At this time of the year, despite the fact that it should be all year, I really do try to ensure that my priorities are in order and that they come first. It’s one of the reasons that the indulgence part is important to me, as it also involves making room and time for those indulgences and experiences to be shared. To build new memories together and to celebrate both each other and each others company. I’ve lost too many people I love in recent years to not realise what a precious gift this is and would encourage us all to take the time to slow down and smell the poinsettia.

Time to remember

My sister and I felt the same way about Christmas. It was always important to us, as well as to mummy and Mr Girlymicro. So much so that when life at Christmas meant that we had too much on and couldn’t celebrate ‘Goosemas’ together we have been known to celebrate Christmas in September, or actually at many other times of year, when we could still get together and cook a goose in each others company. You see, fundamentally, it isn’t about the date for us, it’s about the company and the time spent together. Now she’s gone we keep my sisters memory alive by watching the movies we always used to watch together, like Serendipity. This one was so much a feature of our Christmas celebrations that when Mr Girlymicro and I got married, our wedding present from my sister was to spend 3 nights at the Waldorf Astoria in New York, purely so we could re-create the lift scene from the start of the film, and visit Serendipity 3. Unlike the couple in the movie, Mr Girlymicro and I both picked the same floor (our wedding date) and manage to move direct to our happy ever after. I cry buckets every time I watch these films, but making space to remember the loved ones we’ve lost along the way, and to remember the joy they brought, is an important part of my Christmas experience.

Time to take a break

One of the reasons that any of this is possible is because this is the time of year where I always prioritise taking a break. It feels easier to do as many people are doing the same, so the addition to the email mountain is never quite as much as when you are the only one fleeing with an out of office on. It is also important for me as I know that I am going to find the months from January to March really hard. I work in a windowless converted toilet cubicle as my office, I love it, but it means that in the darker months I barely see sunlight, and after a while it gets to influence my mood. Having this little bump of joy is the foundation I use to get me through till when the flowers start to bloom and my heart starts to lift again. It’s like I’m creating a festive battery to serve until that time.

Time to reconnect

The very act of having a period of days off, when other people are often more available, means that there is an opportunity to really reconnect with people. I have very patient friends and family. I am lucky to have people in my life who I may not see for months, or even years, and yet once we hear from each other it’s like no time has passed. These people are both precious and rare in life, and so I try to ensure that this is the time that I at least reach out, even if I can’t meet up as time is short and we are geographically far away. Time is the resource that I have least of, so using it at Christmas is actually the most valuable gift I can give.

Time to feel re-inspired

A side consequence of taking a break and doing some processing is that I genuinely always come out of this time so re-invigorated and inspired. I feel like I have permission to have conversations with others about what I still want to achieve, and these very conversations give my brain all kinds of ideas. It’s so nice to have time to bounce ideas around, and feel like you are truly having time to have dialogue, rather than the sometimes perfunctory task based thinking that is all there is normally time for. The excitement that comes from these conversations really does fuel me and these things can’t happen without space and connection, and so inspiration really is a gift I give myself at this time of year.

Time to show gratitude

It’s so easy to take people for granted. I do it all the time, even though I really don’t want to. Life is run at pace, and in that rush it is easy to believe we acknowledge and thank others more than we really do, and more than they may have time to hear. My life functions because of Mr Girlymicro. He makes untold sacrifices so that I have time to sit here on the sofa writing, rather than partaking in my share of chores. Mummy Girlymicro does not get the devoted daughter she deserves, as I’m always focusing on too many things at once. This is before you bring me onto colleagues, that cover so I can undertake teaching and research, or my other friends and family, who put up with cancellations either due to work or exhaustion. I owe so many thanks to so many people. They really do make my life a blessed existence. This time of year I hope that I shout my thank you’ s loud enough to be heard and recognised, and that I put down the laptop down for long enough that, for once, I am the one taking care of others, rather than the other way around. I also want to say thank you for reading this blog. It’s come to mean so much to me, and I know that everyone has so many other options about what to do with their time. So thank you. Thank you for reading. Thank you for commenting. Thank you for liking. Thank you for coming on this journey with me.

Time to look to the future

All of which brings me to my final point. The things this season provides enables me to lift myself up and look to the future. It enables me to do so free of the baggage that has built up in the previous 12 months. It lets me do so with a focus born of reflection as to what I want and what needs to be done. It grounds me in connection and means that I remember the core values that drive me. It supports me in entering 2025 in an inspired mindset, which acts as a spring board for everything else. So I will enter my future with optimism, a clear sense of direction and the certainty that I will not be travelling alone as I move forward.

Who doesn’t love a Christmas game!

Now, if as Mr Girlymicro has stated, that was a little motivational speaker, lets bring it back to the real spirit of Christmas, festive games!!! I, being a gamer, love a festive game and so here is a fun one to kick off your day.

All opinions in this blog are my own

I know that not everyone loves this time of year or finds it easy. Please don’t feel alone and reach out for any support you need to make it through the season.