I love watching a good TV show as much as anyone (maybe more).
I remember the first time I ever saw Full House on TGIF. Sitting cuddled up next to my mom and my brother on the couch, together, we watched and laughed and fell in love with the Tanner family. I remember my disappointment when the show got changed to Tuesday nights and then my relief when new great shows got put onto TGIF. The best part was, I could now watch TV on Tuesday and Friday nights. Win.
Here's the part where I give my excuse for my current massive list of obsessions.
My husband worked at night for two years. When he got the new position (technical support for countries in europe & asia) I was newly pregnant and alone a ton of the time. Every single evening to be exact. We didn't even have basic cable at the time so it was all Netflix and Hulu. I managed to fill the time with love for new shows.
During that time I watched 7 seasons of NCIS on DVD that my in-laws lent to us. I watched all of Friday Night Light's that I could get my hands on (the first 3 seasons at that point, I believe). And then there was Pretty Little Liars. It premiered that summer and I watched the first 12 episodes probably 3-4 times each. At first I hated it, I couldn't believe I let myself fall into it like I did. Now 2.5 years later I just can't believe I still don't know who killed Alison. Then that fall Parenthood premiered and of course, I fell head over hills.
During my pregnancy I also re-watched old favorites with the burning knowledge that I would never again get to camp out in front of the TV and be completely unproductive for hours at a time. This gave me some anxiety, I won't lie. I spent time with old friends from The OC, Gilmore Girls, Beverly Hills 90210, One Tree Hill, Everwood and more. They kept me company, I may have been alone but it was never quiet.
Then that October when D made his way via emergency c-section into my life things didn't really change that much. I had a lot of recovery time and when my mom came to stay with me for two weeks, we re-watched Friday Night Lights together. She was converted, we quietly (and jokingly) planned Declan's future in football while we gazed over his little face and cooed that he had to be quarterback because he could never ever hurt anybody.
As he grew and was looking around more and more I made the conscious effort to turn the TV off. I had been told and read all the studies that kiddos shouldn't watch TV until they are 2. Now I am not going to get all high and mighty and brag that we made this happen. We didn't. I think when he was around 18-19 months I sort of gave into the kiddie shows.
Now Mickey Mouse (Mee-Mow) graces my television screen every single morning (this is due to our trip to Disney World in December) and I am pulled from my emails every morning to do the Hot Dog Dance and I secretly love it (even though that song gets a bit much after the 43rd time). We don't keep the TV on all day but it is a part of our lives.
My TV watching is now limited to the occasional nap time lounge fest and to the evenings after D is asleep. I have shows I watch Sunday-Thursday. Some nights there are 3-4 I want to watch and I just can't do it all, and that's okay.
So what do I watch now? The Good Wife, The Following, Bun Heads, The Carrie Diaries, Hart of Dixie, Pretty Little Liars, Parenthood, Nashville, The Vampire Diaries, and honestly the list goes on and on. I am so thankful to my DVR.
However, I know that if there is one TV moment I'll remember from the last 2 years it's this.
Declan was about 14 months old, he woke up teething in the middle of the night and he just would not settle back down. I trudged out to the living room about 1-2 AM and went to my DVR menu. Smirking at my well thought out planning, I put on some random Full House episode I had saved for a desperate occasion. I snuggled up with him and found myself watching it all over again, this time from a parental perspective. And you know what? I still love it just as much as I did the first time I snuggled up to watch it.
Full House is a classic. I played it once, a few months ago, while it was on. M didn't pay much attention. I'll try again when she's older.
ReplyDeleteAwesome full circle moment.
And we didn't let M watch tv until after she was a year old. Back then, I had never heard of a should be "2 years old" thing until the past few months. Things change all the time. ;)
I will admit though, that Dora has taught M a LOT of stuff. New words, ideas, etc. And I'm grateful for it. TV doesn't always have to be as bad as the media makes it for young minds. :)
Whew. And that's my novel for today. ;)