There was a time in my life when I was totally addicted to the TLC show "A Baby Story". I think it started about a year or so after Jason and I got married, which is probably when I started thinking about having a baby. I loved hearing the couples' stories and seeing the labor and birth process. I especially liked the 6 weeks later update. This obsession continued all the way through my pregnancy with Cyrus. Sometimes, I panicked about how my birth would go, especially after watching an episode that ended with unplanned C-section or some other complication. Since I was aiming for a natural birth, these episodes really upset me, especially as I got closer and closer to my due date. On several occasions, after a panic session, Jason "banned" me from watching it! I watched it anyway, but tried to limit my panicking, at least for a while.
The funny this is that once I gave birth, I had very little interest in the show. I tried to watch it again a few weeks after Cy was born, and I don't think I made it through even one episode! Before he was born, I watched four episodes a day, and probably could have watched more.
Well, I've moved on. I supposed it is because I am entering a period in my life in which home-ownership has become a primary goal for me that I am now obsessed with HGTV's "House Hunters". I also quite like "My First Place" and "Property Virgins". All three of these shows chronicle a different couple's journey toward purchasing a home in each episode. Though the format is slightly different for each show, they typically follow the couple through viewing three homes, discussing their options, and making the final decision. On "House Hunters" they do an update 2-4 months later and show some of the updates that the couple has made to the home. As with "A Baby Story", these shows sometimes spark some worry in me. I worry that we'll never be in a place to actually buy a home, or that once we are, that it will be too difficult to find what we (I) want for our budget.
As I was writing this, I remembered a time before I was married when TLC still aired "A Wedding Story". I seem to remember that I had a mild obsession with this show for the first year and a half that I lived in New York, before Jason moved out there and we got engaged. In fact, I may have even kept watching it until we were married.
It would seem that just before I enter a new stage in my life, I latch on to a reality show that follows people embarking on that same journey. A year ago, I was completely uninterested in the HGTV shows. I can remember visiting my mom and finding "House Hunters" incredibly boring whenever she had it on. I suppose I was still too wrapped up in entering the baby-phase. I imagine that once we own a home, my interest in the HGTV shows will also wane a bit, just as it did with "A Baby Story" and "A Wedding Story".
Does this ring true for anyone else? My husband would argue that I am a lone weirdo in this way, but I have to imagine that other people go through the same thing; otherwise, how would there be a constant audience for these shows?
Random side note: I looking back over my NaBLoPoMo posts from last year and realized that I wrote a Fall post last year as well - and it is almost identical to the one I wrote this year! I guess this is further proof that I really, really like fall!
I am the same way. I was hooked on those shows until we finally bought a house. Now I watch all the shows on interior decorating!
ReplyDeleteI think it's common sense that we watch shows that relate to our current phase in life. But some people just aren't really into reality TV as a whole, so they maybe don't fit that generalization.
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