Swiper, No Swiping!

My granddaughter, C.J., along with tons of other little kids, loves Dora the Explorer. I knew little to nothing about Dora and her television show before I went to Canada in December. And honestly, after watching an episode or two with C.J., I couldn't help but wonder how and why the show became so popular and gained such an enormous following among young kids. Sorry to offend any of you avid Dora fans, but I just wasn't abundantly impressed. I, did, however, find it quite hilarious when my granddaughter would shout, "Swiper, no swiping!" to Andy and Chloe the wiener dogs whenever they would snatch food or toys from her hands.

For those of you who don't know, Swiper is the main antagonist on the Dora show, a sneaky orange fox who tries to steal key items from Dora that help her on her adventures. To prevent Swiper from succeeding in his thievery attempts, Dora must say the words, "Swiper, no swiping!" three times. If Dora thwarts Swiper (which she usually does), he slinks away snapping his fingers while saying, "Oh, man!" But sometimes Swiper manages to steal the item before Dora has a chance to say the words, to which Swiper gloatingly says, "You're too late! You'll never find it now!" Obviously, I know more about Dora the Explorer now than I previously did, proving there's pretty much nothing I won't do for my sweet little C.J. ... heck, I watched Dora for gosh sake's ... that's big, people ... big enough to land me a spot in the "Greatest Ghee of All Time" book for sure.

I've been thinking a lot about old mister Swiper for the last few days ... about how hard he tries to snatch away the items Dora needs as she travels along on her journey. I've been thinking about how most of the time, Dora triumphs over Swiper ... most of the time she wins, but old Swiper never gives up ... he keeps coming back, and he tries his best to swipe the things Dora needs in order to survive. It wasn't until I was driving home from work tonight that I understood why Dora and Swiper have been stuck in my brain or why I was meant to become acquainted with the animated characters in the first place. Two months after my trip to Canada, I finally get the lesson I'm supposed to learn ... a great big huge lesson from Dora the Explorer and Swiper the sneaky fox.

As much as I can't believe I'm about to type these words ... I am Dora and my Swiper is depression. Just like Dora, my Swiper sneaks up on me and tries to steal the things I need to survive on my journey. Most of the time (at least for the last year or so anyway), I triumph over my Swiper ... most of the time. But every now and again, my Swiper manages to creep in ... even when I'm shouting with all the strength and might within me, "Swiper, no swiping!" And when my Swiper wins, it's not pretty ... it's not pretty at all. See, here's the thing ... when my Swiper wins, I start believing I'm worthless and useless and meaningless and purposeless and loveless and every other "-less" word in the dictionary. When my Swiper wins, he snatches away my energy, my smile, my voice, my heart.

My Swiper won today ... as much as I hate to admit it, my Swiper has won quite a few days lately and he's stolen more than his share of what I need for the adventure of life. But ... but ... but ... I am Dora. I am Dora, and as for you, Swiper ... I'm not too late, and I will find what I'm looking for ... I promise.

"Swiper, no swiping! Swiper, no swiping! Swiper, no swiping!"