A nod to the Boob Tube

As a stay at home mom (or, "SAHM", the acronym I quickly learned after posting my neurotic questions on countless pregnancy forums), I am kept quite busy taking care of our little booger, but I do get some down time. One of my hobbies that has grown into more of an indulgence than ever before has been that of watching television (please pull in that lower lip that I predict has just sagged as part of a pitied response to my new, Suburban Mom agenda). I love TV! Which is a good thing, considering that this fall has brought with it a lineup of shows that are absolutely amazing, not the least of which is NBC's new hit comedy, Up All Night. It follows the life of new-parents-couple Reagan (Christina Applegate - love!) and Chris (Will Arnett - love love!), and includes, in my opinion, one of the funniest supporting roles on TV, talk show host Ava (Maya Rudolph - more loves).

The timing could not have been more perfect. When the first previews for this show were aired, I was about 8 months pregnant with "Baby K". I remember rubbing my belly while telling Josh how awesome it was that we'd be able to watch this show that will parellel our lives with the little munchkin. Fast forward a couple months, and picture it: Josh and I, new parents for just over 4 weeks and questioning everything we ever knew about anything we ever thought we knew about parenting. Or babies. Or how to center one's self. My two-day-old ponytail barely hanging on by the thread of my hair tie, giant mug-o-coffee perched on the end table as a  lifeline to sustained energy (and liquid hugs, if you ask me), I cradled a fussy Max in my arms and swayed from side to side as the pilot episode premiered. With my mind in a million places and my body begging for sleep, I doubted my ability to even focus on the show's dialogue, let alone enjoy it. But I had waited for this day for months now, and like hell if I was going to forfeit an opportunity to watch a friggin' television show.

And then it started. And it was perfect. It was accurate. It was US.

I don't know if it was the writing, the acting, or that this show so perfectly captured what it had been like for Josh and I the past month acclimating to parenthood. All I knew is that my overwhelming sense of gratitude to the creators for giving me the gift of feeling NORMAL could no better be expressed than by tears of amusement/appreciation, incessant "shrieky" laughter, and interjecting commentary of "Uh huh!"s, "You KNOW that's right!"s, "Oh my God, yes! So true!"s, and so forth. If I'd been in a movie theatre, I'd have gotten shushed and Raisinettes thrown at my head.

So consider this post a big ups to Up All Night - a show that gives an empathic high-five to the journey of parenting and trying to retain some semblance of the cool, hip young cats we all used to be before burp rags and bottle cleaners.

Thanks, NBC! You are mommy's blankie.