The Mom Weekly Volume 126: January 6, 2026
You can read this, or any other previous Mom Weeklies, by going to the home page here.
Notes:
Today is the traditional Feast of the Epiphany, which is 12 days from Christmas. We celebrated it on Sunday this year, but I think in Europe and other places it’s still a feast day and a time to celebrate the three wise men visiting baby Jesus. That’s why I felt it is still appropriate to have a Christmas-adjacent reflection.
Also, I found myself laughing OUT LOUD as I wrote this week’s selection. Even if you don’t find it funny, I did, so there’s that. As I like to say, “I crack myself up!”
Remember how much I love you,
Mom
And Tiny Tim, Who Did NOT Die!
If you don’t know the genesis of the headline quote, stop immediately right now and go watch the entire The Muppet Christmas Carol. If you don’t have time for that, please watch this 1 minute and 30 second clip from it.
(Also, how cute is the exchange?)
Rizzo the Rat: “And … Tiny Tim?”
Gonzo: “And Tiny Tim, who did NOT die!”
Rizzo: “Aw, isn’t that swell?”
Variations of “And Tiny Tim, who did NOT die!” have been circulating in our family for many years, and I thought it would be fun to catalog a few of the most hilarious ones, and to encourage 2026 to perhaps be the year of “And Tiny Tim, who did NOT die!” Variations. Because we can all use more laughter in our lives.
”And William Shatner, who did NOT die!”
This has been a perennial favorite, as the oldest of our children has—on multiple occasions—insisted that William Shatner is no longer with us. To great hilarity among the rest of us, who remind her, (not for the first time) that she is wrong.
As of this writing, Shatner is a hale and hearty 94 years old, and I wish him many more happy years. I’m going to be sad when he passes, if only because we can’t use that expression again.
“And Selena Gomez, who did NOT marry Bad Bunny!”
I laughed so much again writing this because …. I hope you’ll see why.
Last year, when Selena Gomez was getting married to producer Benny Blanco (I had to look that up because every cell within me wants to write “Bad Bunny”), I mentioned it (no memory why) to one of our children who will definitely remain nameless for obvious reasons. This child assured me that, in fact, Selena Gomez was marrying Bad Bunny, and I absolutely believed the child, because why wouldn’t I?
In fact, I so believed this child that I merely expressed surprise and did not immediately try to look it up. That is because this child, like all of my children (except when it comes to William Shatner), is trustworthy and knowledgeable. I said, “I can’t believe that I didn’t know that before! I always thought it was some music producer, but I guess Bad Bunny would be considered a music producer? Ah, well, all the things I don’t know because I am old.”
The last line is doubtless true. As the expression goes, I could not pick either Bad Bunny or Benny Blanco out of a lineup. If my life depended upon it, I could not name a song by either of them, nor answer correctly (except by a wild guess) if you played me a song, and said, “Is this by Bad Bunny?”
I vaguely know about Bad Bunny because last year didn’t he have a “residency” of concerts in Puerto Rico, his home, kind of like people like Adele have “residencies” in Las Vegas? I’m purposefully not going to look it up because it is funny either if it’s true and I knew that, or it’s not true, and I thought it was true. We will just leave it at that.
And that, my loved ones, is the sum total of everything I know about Bad Bunny. Which is more than I know about Benny Blanco. He’s a “music producer” but does he produce his own music? For Selena Gomez? For Taylor Swift? For Lawrence Welk? It’s all a mystery to me. Remember that I’m on the mature side here!
I do know more about Selena Gomez because she plays Mabel in the entertaining “Only Murders in the Building” series. But again, I could not name a song by her, though I know she is an accomplished musician.
Anyway, the punchline to the story: Several DAYS after that, I was still occasionally shaking my head at myself every so often, muttering “How did you not know that Selena Gomez was marrying Bad Bunny?” And then this child sent a note to our family team chat to report that Bad Bunny and Benny Blanco are, in fact, not the same person. Cue “And Selena Gomez, who did NOT marry Bad Bunny!”
All I can say is, I’m glad that I don’t have to pick musicians or producers out of lineups, and I am grateful that my life does not depend on me being able to identify current pop songs.
Interesting/Notable:
“One Weird Trick to Feel More Relaxed at Home” — The Atlantic Gift Link
This is all about surface clutter being bad for our emotions and comfort. Takeaway: the time we spend clearing off surfaces is a boon to our health, not just our organization. (Aside: I assume the headline writer meant it kind of tongue-in-cheek, but I find “try this one weird trick” really annoying, like from spam links at the bottom of articles.)
8 Common Clutter “Blind Spots” —- And What to Do About Them (WSJ Gift Link)
I found this one when I was looking for the Atlantic article.
This time of year is great for considering clearing out some spaces! I cleaned out my bathroom drawers the other day, and it was very satisfying, even though it wasn’t surface clutter. Give it a try!