A Love Letter to Sesame StreetPhoto Credit: Richard Termine

It’s been 50 years since the first episode of Sesame Street aired on November 10, 1969. Its creators pioneered the idea of using television to build early-years literacy skills – and still be entertaining. The show was heavily researched and carefully constructed, using proven advertising techniques (such as repetition of short, zippy inserts) to build letter and number recognition. Every episode ended with harmonica music and a voice-over saying: “Sesame Street was brought to you today by the letter E and the number 5.”

Ten years ago, I was facing a major challenge to my fertility. During a procedure to remove what we thought was a cancerous mass on my left ovary, the surgeons removed the entire ovary and part of my Fallopian tube. The very good news was that I had endometriosis, not cancer. The bad news was the surgery would make it very difficult for me to get pregnant the old-fashioned way.