“I can’t believe you’re watching that AGAIN. How many times do you need to see it?”
This is the question basically anytime I tune into something on our television. I inevitably find my “comfort food” of guilty pleasure TV shows and I can zone out.
My husband does.not.get.it. Why on earth do you need to watch it over and over again? The simplest answer is that I like to know what is going to happen. Watching these shows feels like a warm blanket giving me a hug. I don’t have multiple “what if” scenarios playing out in my head. I know what is coming next.
It makes me feel like I am in control of something when I am not in control of almost everything else.
I am a Type A planner by nature. Routine, schedules, plans, time frames – all things I need to be able to function successfully. I do not thrive in the unknown, I am not good at last minute changes. Beyond knowing what the plans are, I also typically need to plan for the “what ifs.” And there are A LOT of those in any given day!
I stay at home with our three kiddos – almost 5 years old, 2 years old, & 1 whole month old. There are a lot of circumstances that could very quickly change the plans in the blink of an eye. The more chaotic life gets, the more I tend to enjoy the comfort of my “mindless entertainment.”
When I don’t know what else could possibly happen in one day, I DO know what will happen on any episode of Grey’s Anatomy, or Gossip Girl. I DO know what will happen in every scene of Titanic.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen every episode of FRIENDS or stayed up wayyy too late to see the end of Titanic (hoping Rose scoots on over so Jack won’t freeze to death.) I know how silly it is to “waste time” watching something I’ve already seen. I know it doesn’t give me magical powers to be able to predict what will happen next in my own life. Neither do actual warm hugs, but we all take comfort in those too.
What kind of silly guilty pleasures do you have? What makes you feel secure and able to face another day?
