I am on a horse. Cow.

The countdown is on! My baby brother is getting married a week from today. So, I thought this week could be A Celebration of Poochie.

Fun Fact You Didn’t Know About Poochie: He had / has a thing for Grover. Yes, everybody’s favorite furry little monster.

Poochie received a Grover stuffed animal as a gift when he was a youngun’, and Grover became his one and only. Poochie and Grover went everywhere together, and Grover is featured prominently in many family photos.

One year for Christmas, Grover asked Santa for a purple t-shirt. This caused my mom a lot of heartache. How could Santa possibly deliver a purple t-shirt for a monster whose presence was absolutely, without question necessary for my brother to fall asleep?

Let’s just talk about how awesome my mom is for a moment, shall we? She’d wait til Poochie fell asleep at nap time (he’s the favorite kid – he actually took naps). Then, she’d sneak in, steal Grover, and figure out a pattern from his furry blue body. When she was done, she’d throw him on the floor in Poochie’s room, so when Poochie woke up, she’d just be all, “Oh, Grover fell out of bed.”

Then, Christmas Eve? She and my dad had to steal Grover in the middle of the night. My mom sewed the t-shirt on. Then, they tucked Grover back in bed with Poochie. And my brother awoke Christmas Day to find that Santa had, indeed, given Grover a purple t-shirt.

So, Grover sports a purple t-shirt to this day. And I think he’s on retina transplant number 19, as the pupils on his plastic eyes keep wearing off and being touched up with Sharpie. And he has a bald spot on his rear, as Poochie would rub Grover’s silky tag against his upper lip for comfort. In the grand tradition of The Velveteen Rabbit, Grover is as real as they get. Super Real. Super Grover.

It’s all just one of those things that makes Poochie who he is, and makes me love him.

But Grover’s a man who evolves. You might remember his Olivia Newton-John era aerobics bit, or his disco dancing. Now, he’s spoofing those hilarious Old Spice commercials.