I'm Faking It

I hesitate to write a new post because I've been having so much fun reading and interacting with comments from yesterday's post. If you haven't read it yet, please do before you leave this time!

As for now, I must admit - I'm faking it. "It" being "watching the movie."
Every Friday at our house is movie night. On the way home from school Friday afternoons we make a stop at the video store and the kids (on a rotation of their own monitoring) pick out a movie to watch before bed. After dinner they play for a bit while I do the dishes. Then they do a quick clean up of toys, don their PJs, and start the movie. I usually sit and watch it with them.
So tonight, I'm sitting in the family room with them, but obviously I'm not really watching the movie. I'm blogging.
If the kids weren't on this Pokemon kick, I'd be happy to watch with them. But I just can't get into this show. When my daughter showed me the two Pokemon DVDs between which she was choosing and asked me, "Which one do you think sounds more interesting?" I had to bite my tongue to keep from saying what I really thought. I taught them a long time ago that it isn't nice to call things stupid...
I must admit I get a charge out of listening to them talk about their Pokemon trading cards. They talk about the names of the characters, point out their "HP," talk about whether they are holographic, crystal guardians, "ex," star-star-seven, or world champions, and on and on. It is as though they're speaking a completely different language. My husband and I grin at each other when the kids get so animated with their card trading. But I have no interest in watching a Pokemon movie.

Just a couple of shelves up at the video store was something I could have gotten into. There were DVDs containing three episodes per DVD of the original Muppet Show!
I loved The Muppet Show. All night I've been singing, Bum, bum, bum. It's time to put on make-up. It's time to dress up right. It's time to meet the muppets on The Muppet Show tonight! I don't remember if The Muppet Show was on every night when I was a kid, or only once a week, but I remember I loved watching it.
I tried talking my kids into getting it tonight. The Swedish Chef was on the cover of one of the DVDs and I did my best immitation of him, describing how he was always throwing food around while he sang. They weren't impressed.
One of my favorite parts was when various muppets were dancing in a ballroom setting and told jokes. I thought Miss Piggy was pretty and I wished I could have her long blonde hair and lavender satin gloves. I always thought those old guys in the balcony should be a little nicer, though. And I usually felt sorry for Gonzo when he would make something blow up in his own face and get all dirty. That's it! Explosions! I'll tell the boys about the explosions next time. Maybe that will interest them.

Seriously. I enjoyed The Muppet Show so much as a kid, and I would love to share it with my kids. Maybe I'll see if I can get in on the movie selection rotation. Or I'll bring up the explosives and try to do a better sales job. It's Joshua's turn to choose next week. He might go for that. One way or another, I'll do my best to share this memory of mine with my kids.

How about you? What fond childhood memory have you wanted to re-live with your kids?

Edited to add: For how I just downplayed Pokemon, I have to share this precious moment. At the end of the show one character (Ashe) was leaving another (Pikachu) behind because Ashe thought Pikachu would be happier in this other place. This situation made Matthew sad and he started crying and climbed up on my lap for comfort. I hugged him and told him it was OK, that Ashe and Pikachu were back together and everyone was happy in the end. Matthew just said it made him sad and he wanted to be with me.
OK. The movie didn't interest me, but I loved my little guy on my lap!