lofty ideals

before i was married i was a sanctimonious "i have better things to do with my time than watch television" kind of girl.  i filled my days in class, studying, reading, hiking, biking, working, chatting, dining out, etc.  i watched "films", generally those of the foreign slant, and prided myself on my upscale taste in literature and non-existent knowledge of current pop culture as portrayed on the tube.  then i got married and with our lovely little shoebox of an apartment came free satellite.  still, i was busy and rarely home...we went to yosemite, yellowstone, bryce & zion - any downtime was spent cruising looking for spots to explore and hike.  i had a bun in the oven faster than you can chide "but weren't you using birth control" and suddenly i was calling in to work, missing classes and spending a lot of time lazing on our awesome dingy apple green couch with black wooden finials - it looked a little like crushed velvet and was a lowrider.  it was seriuosly sweet vintage...
anyhoo, on went the tv: suddenly i was exposed to law & order several times a day. i discovered "charmed", pausing to take it in b/c their theme song was a cover of one of my all-time favorite smiths' songs.  i watched witches battling demons, chefs fine-chopping shallots, detectives examing remains in Central Park, and i loved every second of it. i watched and i gazed and i stared, until my eyes were bleary and my head felt fuzzy. 
then my daughter was born, and once again my time was spent elsewhere. again, i became self-righteous and waxed philosophical on the evils of television, especially as far as children are concerned (you can bet i was watching whatever i could get at night, though, even though we only had 3 channels at the time).  i was horrified at the prospect of sitting my child in front of a television to watch mindless drivel that was also exposing her to electromagnetic energy.  we resisted and didn't even miss it, even after my first son was born.  then, quicker than you can ask "how old  was your baby?" we were once again with child. kids' cbc became my salvation; i think i may have actually muttered prayers of gratitude for cartoons created for the pre-school set. "poko" was my blue-haired buddy, too.
what's my point?  tv can certainly be a time-drainer and it's tough to find something of intrinsic value.  but it also kept my children safe, literally, when i was pregnant and sick.  they were enthralled and would not leave my side as i slept lightly on our bed as long as the tv was on. there have been days in their lives when i could not drag myself out of bed, and they were babysat by the backyardigans.
sometimes i wonder how i've gone from a "kill your television" bumper-sticker brandishing kind of girl to one who gleefully plans sunday evening around "the amazing race" and "desperate housewives".  lately we've been feeling the need to break out the uno cards, or something.  but for parents of young children tv can be a lifesaver, a  fun diversion and a stress reliever.  and i, for one, wonder what in the world is good to watch on a wednesday night when my little one is sick and only wants to nurse.