The Never Normal

today’s back-to-back 30 minute episodes of the brady bunch on tv land were marcia takes up the women’s lib cause and cindy is afraid of the dark because of a disappearing woman in a magic show. i actually do enjoy watching the brady bunch. jonah usually has just woken up from his nap and he loves the smiling faces of the brady family singing to him from those blue, hollywood-square-looking boxes on the screen.  there’s something to be said for unintentional vapidity as entertainment.

i don’t mind it if jonah watches a little TV, as long as it’s innocuous TV.  the following are the only programs on the menu for my son and me; lately i’ve been watching four or so of these shows each day…i’ve put stars next to the ones jonah actually watches:

barney *
teletubbies *
pyramid, with donny osmond hosting
who wants to be a millionaire
litle house on the prairie
mr rogers neighborhood
sesame street *
the brady bunch *(the opening & ending sequence gets his attention but that’s it)

the only other show i watch is after jonah’s 8pm bedtime, and that’s (not sure why I’m admitting this) American Idol.

i am cheering for the not-skinny girl with the dyed-red hair.

***

8:50pm

i lied. i often flip to doctor phil if the bradys are being boring, and oprah catches my attention about 3 times a week. by that time, though, andy is home and usually takes jonah in his room to play.

i don’t worry too much about the whole tv thing; we’re only watching it at all because of this never-ending fucking winter. today it got up to 40 degrees and it felt like full-blown spring after the zero-degree hell we’ve been subjected to lately. once spring is here i’ll take the kid outside every day. he’s gonna love it.

so today our tv watching was limited to the teletubbies and the brady bunch because we actually ventured out of doors!

i put jonah in the car around 10am and we went all over town running errands. Then I brought him to the bookstore and let him run around the kids’ area. i splurged and bought 3 writers’ mags.

ugh – he just woke up crying and he’s only been asleep for an hour – it’s gonna be a long night!