Posted, as is this procrastinator’s way, on the FIRST day of December because…you know…the holidays.
Visiting Grandma (my Mom) at the Nursing Home. Oh my goodness, it was bittersweet!
Do you ever feel like the end of November is just one big appetizer for the whirlwind we call “The Holidays”?
It’s good to pace yourself, I’m finding.
It’s good to slow down. It’s good to take breaks and watch shows on Netflix.
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Which I did!
I did! I did! I devoured the Gilmore Girls revival over the Thanksgiving weekend!
Did you?
It wasn’t, perhaps, an obvious choice for me because I’ve only seen three or four episodes of the original series. Three or four episodes is all! I’m just sayin’! I am quirkily out of the loop like that–the perfect contender for a quirky show like Gilmore Girls.
Still, I loved it.
Loved loved {sigh} {cry} LOVED it.
I watched by myself in my bed with my binge candle. I thought, This is the me that I want to be:
Except I don’t want my daughter sleeping with a Wookiee.
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You know what I loved about Gilmore Girls: a Year in the Life? Everything, except for maybe the Stars Hollow musical (which was so bad it was good, maybe?) and the horrible choices made by Rory & Logan.
I “get” those horrible choices, by the way.
I made plenty of my own.
Anyway, if you want a real review from a gal who knows the series, head over to this post at Carrots for Michaelmas. Don’t skip the comments! You’ll agree and disagree; you’ll have a fun time discussing A Year in the Life.
As for ME…
Yes, I am a Netflix #StreamTeam reviewer, but sometimes I wonder WHY I am because I’m such a crazy conflicted person when it comes to television. My philosophy is basically this: If it feels really good, don’t do it! Okay, I’m kidding…kind of…but I’ll admit to a very real struggle with scrupulosity when it comes to wasting time on extracurricular pleasure, and Netflix is very much an extracurricular pleasure for this uber-busy mom of many. Lately I just go and go…I push myself hard and drain the very dregs of the day…I go and go until I just drop.
In the end, I may not be very “selfish” per se, but I don’t know that I’m very giving either.
Giving, get it?
As in, Thanksgiving?
Giving, as in giving the gift of your time and your attention?
I’m starting to realize that there must be a middle—a middle ground where I can meet my kids, whose ONLY goal (I think) (sometimes) is extracurricular pleasure and staring at screens. Don’t get me wrong, they’re pretty good little buggers! But they don’t have…um…the pioneer work ethic I would like. This will be their special cross as they head off into a world that’s OVERWHELMING DISTRACTING.
Bear with me, here.
I know you know I’ve not been blogging as much. The reason is: I’ve needed to take a very big step back because I noticed something more than a bit alarming: My children were growing up without me.
Yes, I’m a homeschooling stay-at-home mom, but there’s a great big difference between being here and BEING HERE. That’s where I’m going with this post and this review—that as you fly through this crazy-busy season formerly known as December, I hope you can take some time both for you and for them. There needs to be a place where our families can meet—the busy mom and her happily distracted kids…the distracted mom and her could-be-happier kids.
In short? I want to be more Lorelei.
I want to be a mom emotionally there for her kids.
So to that end…
I permitted myself a generous splash of Me Time—No guilt! Just A Year in the Life, my binge candle and me!—and then, in the spirit of fun and family, I asked, “What can we watch as a family together?”
We watched HOOT, is what we did. WE watched HOOT, both me and them.
(It’s a great movie, by the way! Super cute and very “feel-good”, which we need when we’re draining the day to its dregs.)
(Best parental line ever: “What’s going on with you? Where’s that ‘such good judgement’?”)
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So this is the take-away of this longish post: My wish for you as we begin this busy month is that you too might find a healthy balance between taking time for yourself and giving back to your family. You can use Netflix to this end, I’m finding: You can play games…read books…and watch TV…together.
It’s a family culture built around shared family time.
It’s striving to be fully here…for them.
Oh goodness… I’m not sure my kids would like a show where Phil Coulson plays a bad guy! 😀 I’ll have to see if I can get them to consider it. But honestly, watching things with my big kids has really brought us so much enjoyment. They love the little private jokes we now have. It is time well spent!
Sally in Schulz’s Peanuts: I think I’ve discovered the secret to life. You just hang around until you get used to it. Faith Hope and Charity keeps familys to gether on their way to heaven.
I know this post isn’t current but it’s your latest Netlfix post and I wanted to gripe, hoping you would commiserate with me. I just checked out Netflix’s 40 Recently Added movies/programs and I don’t think I’d watch any of them. 90% is just trash. I’m so frustrated with Netflix, but with no real alternative, I keep giving them my measly$8 a month because I don’t spend on any other form of entertainment.