Kids These Days

When my kids were younger, I tried to convince them that my taste in music and entertainment was the only way to go. For a while, it seemed to be working. My little boy actually used to dance to Phil Collins music. And my daughter seemed to enjoy watching sappy dramas with me. But now, that's all changed. No matter what, I cannot get my kids into listening to Phil Collins anymore. They don't even want any Credence Clearwater Revival. My little boy (who is really not little at all anymore) listens to--gasp--Taylor Swift. And my daughter listens to--well, whoever it is, I haven't even heard of them. Neither one watches much TV with me anymore. They now prefer shows like iCarly and other goofy teen stuff. (I feel obligated to mention at this point that my not-so-little boy is really into cooking shows right now and I do actually enjoy some of them myself.) So what happened to my kids?

Whenever I start to complain--in my mind, at least--about my kids not appreciating the same entertainment I enjoy, I think about how my own parents would view my current tastes. I grew up with music by Gene Autry, people on the Lawrence Welk show, and a bunch of guys that yodeled a lot. Seriously, has anyone besides my dad heard of Elton Britt? We faithfully watched Little House on the Prairie and The Wonderful World of Disney. I think my folks would be surprised that I watch so much sci-fi now. We watch a lot of superhero movies and Star Trek related shows. And with the exception of a few memorable songs I grew up with, most of the music on my iPod is adult contemporary and 80s stuff. I'm sure my parents would not enjoy very much of it.

So what is a parent to do? Well, pretty much all we can do is raise our kids with a decent set of values and hope that they make choices about entertainment that go with those values. The only other choice would be to raise your kids in a sterile bubble and try to cram your opinions down their throats. But that might not be very practical.

Besides, I've heard bubbles like that cost a fortune.

Things I've learned from watching TV (and movies)

1. Never climb up something when you are being chased. You will always end up trapped at the top.
2. If Jessica Fletcher shows up in your neighborhood, LEAVE TOWN IMMEDIATELY! Also, take someone with you so you always have an alibi.
3. If you are about to be executed by an evil genius, he will most likely start telling you all his evil plans. He will spend so much time doing this that the good guys will have just enough time to rescue you.
4. If you run across a dead body, don't touch it or pick up the weapon lying nearby. (This seems like a no-brainer, but people on Matlock and Perry Mason never followed this advice.)
5. Living with or close to the Ingalls family of "Little House" fame was somehow detrimental to children as it made them prone to run away from home. (What was with that family? Funny how Laura never mentioned any runaways in her books.)
6. Office buildings in NYC and other large cities are filled with funny people where humorous things happen constantly and nobody ever really works.
7. A pregnant woman always knows the second she goes into labor. (Something must be wrong with me. It took me hours to figure it out.)
8. There is always a way to keep ahead of an explosion if you are a good guy.

See what I've learned? Who says too much TV is bad for you? I'm going to see if I can learn something new from TV right now.

First Day(s) of School

Well, it's that time of year again. The kids are back in school. This year we had two first days of school. That's because only the freshmen went to the high school the first day and the upper grades started the second day. So for me, Wednesday didn't seem like the first day of school because only one kid went. Thursday was the second day of school, but the first day for my high schooler. I could go on and make this more confusing but I won't.

I decided to spend Thursday morning watching a movie, one that I wanted to watch by myself. I will not reveal which movie it was. Let's just say that Netflix considers it a tearjerker. I started this little tradition last year on the first school day, enjoying a quiet house and watching some movie that my kids don't care for.

Now that the first few school days have past, I need to spend those quiet hours doing housework and catching up on things that I put off during the summer. Of course, after the first week, the house will seem TOO quiet. But that's why I have an iPod.