As a baby boomer, I am definitely a product of television. Our first TV was black and white, and I remember when we got our first color television. The current generation is more into downloads, Netflix, and Hulu where they can watch whatever they want on their own time schedule. We used to plan our evenings so that we could watch our favorite shows since we had to fit into the network's schedule or miss it!
This month has brought back a lot of memories from shows when I was young. I started watching soap operas when I was in high school. During the summers, I watched All My Children, One Life to Live, and General Hospital. I continued to watch for the next 20 years and then was too busy to keep up. All My Children and One Life to Live are no longer on the air, but General Hospital is celebrating its 50th Anniversary. While I don't intend to start watching again, I have tuned in for their anniversary episodes. To help celebrate, they have brought back many characters from when I used to watch and even some from when my mother would watch as she did her ironing! It has been fun to see my favorite actors return. It's reassuring to see that they have aged just like I have.
Today I also caught an episode of Katie which reunited the cast of The Mary Tyler Moore Show. It was great to see these wonderful comedic actresses as they shared memories of their days creating this beloved program. It was particularly poignant to have Valerie Harper there as she faces brain cancer. The love, admiration, and joy of these ladies as they gathered together, probably for the last time, was wonderful to see. I was particularly impressed with the impact their show had on young women as their roles were changing from being wives and mothers to working women. I know that this show helped me see that, as a woman, I had many more options available to me.
Perhaps most nostalgic of all, Annette Funicello died today. I am old enough that I remember rushing home from school to watch her on the original Mickey Mouse Club. While it is said that the boys watched Annette for a different reason, I watched because I thought she was beautiful and talented; I wanted to be like her. Annette brings to mind a simpler time in my life when I was in my formative years. I know that she had a very difficult time later in life as she fought Multiple Sclerosis. While I am glad that she is no longer suffering, I am sad to hear that she died.
All of these events remind me that I am getting older. My parents are no longer alive, I am now sixty years old, and I have 2 grandchildren. These are all reminders that life and times change. A new generation is here to inherent and nurture the world we live in. While I don't feel old, I have experienced a lot of things in my life, and I have benefited from these experiences. Many memories live inside of my head, and events like those I've described sometimes bring them to the forefront. This is when I take a moment to be nostalgic.
I think it is good to be nostalgic once in a while. It helps put things into perspective, helps foster an appreciation for the richness of my life experiences, and serves as a reminder to enjoy each day to the fullest. I look forward to many productive years ahead of me and many more memories that I will create, but I believe that it is healthy to take a moment to remember. Life is so very precious!
Have you found your joy today?
No comments:
Post a Comment