Watching Television with My Husband... Buckle Up!
If it weren’t for my husband’s need to hold a clicker, and constantly bounce around channels, we would have long ago cut the cable cord and watched television programming strictly through a service like Netflix or Hulu. As it is, the mere mention of not having hundreds of channels at his disposal to watch on demand, bouncing between a half dozen different programs at once makes him break out in a cold sweat of fear.
This past Friday night we settled in for that classic, old, boring couple’s night of television watching and relaxation. We have not had an evening free in several weeks so I was eagerly anticipating some relaxation time with the television lulling us into a near comatose state.
Apparently, it had been so long since we’d been able to have an evening of relaxing in front of the television that I managed to somehow forget what it’s like to watch television with my husband.
He’s watching no less than a handful of shows at once including, but not limited to:
Any sports event being broadcast. And I do mean absolutely any sports event on television. Any! (On Saturday morning when I came downstairs he was watching women’s collegiate level lacrosse.)
Any television show on about life in Alaska. If there are people hunting animals, or better yet animals hunting other animals, that’s a bonus!
Anything that might pass as educational. If it is on the Discovery channel, he loves it. It’s automatic. Tell him how something is made, built, invented or bust a myth and he’s all in!
Hunting shows always get his attention. Could be anything from hunting for rodents (yes, there really are shows about that) to big game hunting.
Shows about rednecks acting like, well, rednecks. Lawnmower racing, keg stands, chasing alligators, big fat slobs with unreasonably hot wives!
Any show about guys eating really gross and disgusting food while talking about eating really gross and disgusting food. Last week I heard a guy on a show he was watching say “This smells and tastes remarkably like dirty sneakers” and yet the man KEPT EATING! It boggles my mind. Oh, and also a bonus if these shows are on while you might actually be eating something. Yum!
His idea of an ideal relaxing evening is flipping through all of these programs as often as possible. Basically any time there’s a commercial break, we’re changing channels. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve left the room, or been distracted by a kid and looked up to wonder “wait, is this the same show?” because it suddenly makes no sense to me!
But wait, we’re not finished yet! Should his phone go off, or he has to go to the bathroom or even just leave the room to refill his drink or grab a snack, the television is paused until he returns. Doesn’t matter that he may get distracted and not return for 30 minutes or more, don’t unpause the TV! This part particularly drives me crazy, because even though he now has 30 minutes of paused television to fast forward through and skip commercials, if the show begins to lose his interest, we’re flipping channels again!
Just to give you some idea of the level of contrast between the two of us, I usually leave the television on the same channel for the entire day, or evening. I’m usually looking for the remote when the ‘the television is about to turn off due to inactivity’ message comes on the screen.
I’ve learned to enjoy watching TV with him even if I don’t always enjoy the exact programs that he chooses. More than once I’ve had to cover my eyes and say “Okay, new channel please! Uncle! Uncle!”
Is watching television with your significant other this crazy or is it just me?
Angela is a social media and online community professional who has always dreamed of being a writer. Blogging combines two of her passions, social media and writing! She blogs about anything that strikes her fancy and is always thrilled (and a little surprised!) when someone lets her know they enjoy reading her work. You can find her on her blog www.writermomblog.com, Google+, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.
