Coming home from school was always a part of the day I looked forward to when I was a kid. I remember sitting in my first grade classroom at the end of the day and hearing the big orange-yellow buses pull up in front of the school…lining up in predictable order to take us home. There seemed to be at least a small bit of excitement about going home every afternoon. There was sure to be Mom who would always have some type of snack for us. There was also another aspect to the after school routine at our house…TBS.
Every afternoon at 4:05, reruns of The Brady Bunch aired on TBS. (Remember when TBS did everything on the five?) Except I’m not sure if I knew at the time that they were reruns. Thus began my association of comfort and safety with a TV show. Shameful, I know.
It wasn’t until years later that I became so hooked on another show. Not that I didn’t watch TV during all those years…but I don’t remember another show I really attached memories to like I did The Brady Bunch. Until the spring of 2002 when The Man and I began to watch the end of season 4 of Survivor with my sister and brother-in-law. It wasn’t so much the show itself at that time. It was the fact that my sister and I now lived in the same town (which hadn’t been true since I was in high school). And now we had a night, Thursday nights. That was our night…to hang out, eat dinner together, play with our nephews, and after they were tucked in, to turn on CBS and watch random people outwit, outplay, outlast.
We watched several seasons on Thursday nights together, until one particular Thursday afternoon I took a pregnancy test that turned out to be positive and 9 months (or so) later, we had twins. Evening outings became a thing of the past and our Thursday nights with my sister became Thursday nights at home. Watching Survivor, just the 2 of us…well, it wasn’t the same. And so we stopped.
Thanks be to a certain female contestant on Survivor China premiering tonight for resurrecting our desire to watch. She happens to be a co-worker and friend of my parents. So I’m making a chocolate chip pie and inviting friends over to watch not-so-random people outwit, outplay, outlast.
It won’t be the same as it once was…the glory days of the early seasons with my family. But it will be fun to have someone to cheer for.
Hope you enjoy it!!!
It’s not the same without you! Mom and Dad didn’t take up nearly as much room on the sofa as John usually did! Miss you so much and can’t wait to see you today!
even though we’ve never been into survivor before, all i could think about on thursday was how much fun it was going to be to come and watch a show with some friends.
i, too, remember not too long ago, being able to just up and go to a friends’ house to watch a show, or movie. now, with two little ones needing to be in their beds by 8 o clock, not so easy. but definitely worth it…even for a fun silly show.
the part that makes it so fun is just being together, and eating yummy goodies, and being silly about other random (or for you, not so random) peoples’ adventures. these, yes even something as normal as watching tv, are the times when i find my soul is refreshed from fellowship. not because of watching something on tv, but just joining together to have family time, and friend time.
now the only obstacle is getting a sitter every thursday! =)
“your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints.” philemon 1:7