Until quite recently, we subscribed to a bouquet on our cable television that allowed us to be able to watch more than one channel at the same time with the possibility of recording a third. Some realities set in and we had to make a number of adjustments across almost every item on our budget. That meant reviewing our TV subscription to accommodate just one view.

My children soon developed a coping mechanism, learning to take turns watching TV within the short time frame they were allowed to. They would assign to one another the maximum number of programs that each person was allowed to watch at once. Scrolling through the TV guide, they would literally pre-determine who would watch what.  Everyone else was obliged to watch with the others and/or wait their turn. My second son, Charles was the ‘captain’ who often steered that ship. Lol. I found that interesting as they could barely agree on such specifics in the past even when they had an extra view.

On this particular day, they settle down to watch. My daughter, Claire was first to go. She chose to watch ‘Oh Jessie’ first. As soon as the montage began to play, my daughter excitedly sang along. The irony is that as soon as the opening song stopped, she changed the channel in search of the next interesting thing to watch. Her older brothers looked at one another and chorused – “One gone, two to go”.  The look on Claire’s face showed that she was not pleased with their response but she had to obey the rules of engagement they had all earlier agreed to. Typically, every aspect of a show grabs her attention – she would stay glued until the very end. This was not the case with ‘Oh Jessie’.

 

This was not the first time that this was happening. I would imagine that her siblings would let her still have a go at watching three full programs (usually cartoons), especially since the song played for only a few seconds but a pact was a pact. What was her deal with that particular song by the way?! I have repeatedly wondered what it was about the song that would make her accept substituting it for a cartoon she otherwise would have watched; after all there are a good number of other TV shows that fall into the category of exciting age appropriate channels for her. Silly me! Why worry my pretty head over mundane things? Heck! Mothers do know how to make a fuss!

 

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