Why do I need The Bachelor when I already have a husband?

There are certain things about myself that I share on this here internet, that perhaps would be best kept to myself.  Through Mary Tyler Mom, you know that I have a cleaning lady, you know that Mary Tyler Son is named after Chicago’s Mayor Daley, and (sorry for this one), you know about my trampoline incontinence episode.

Today I will reveal the extent of my bad tee vee habits.

I watch a lot of it, and would watch much more if given half a chance.  Last year I all but forfeited reading for the whole new world of tee vee that the iPad brought me.  Between HBO Go, Netflix, Hulu+, and abc.com, it’s a wonder that Mary Tyler Son eats and has clean clothes to wear.  Mary Tyler Dad is known as the “iPad widower” in our home.   Sigh.  I’m not proud of it, and I hope it is a phase, albeit a longlasting one, but there it is:  My name is Mary Tyler Mom and I am addicted to bad tee vee.

“Hi, Mary Tyler Mom!”

I see I am in good company.

I acknowledged I had a problem on Thanksgiving when my beloved cousin revealed that she had stopped reading and her dear husband had left a library book for her on the nightstand as a nudge to get her back into the reading game.  I recognized myself.  I, too, had stopped reading.  I totally and completely blame the iPad.  Another cousin warned me about it over a year ago when I was waxing poetic about my new toy.  “Don’t read your books there, or you’ll stop reading.”  I told her I had started electronic books.  She warned me that was all well and good, but not to read the electronic books on the iPad, as there were too many other distractions.  Yeah, she was right.  Fourteen months later, I think I have read only three books.

Today I learned that the newest season of The Bachelor premieres.  It is, quite possibly, the worst show on tee vee.  Predictable, insanely gendered, stupid, fluffy.  And yet, I secretly cheered inside.  It’s my son’s third birthday today, and with this news, I thought I was getting the gift.

Yes, I have a problem.

Okay.  So I watch a lot of bad tee vee.  Real Housewives of the SVU hire House Hunters for a Nip/Tuck.  It’s not good, but it’s not terrible, either.  Bad tee vee helps me relax.  It gets me out of my head, which can get kind of gloomy sometimes.  A little bad tee vee is no problem.  What I want to watch is the balancing act.  Too much tee vee = not enough reading, not enough talking with Mary Tyler Dad, not enough time to organize around the house, etc.  Imma try to keep it balanced this new year.

The good news is that I’m a third of the way through a new book.  A paper book with pages and a cover, old school.  And I get extra points for effort, as it is a first person history of Berlin in 1933.  Go big or go Bachelor.  Wish me luck.

Oh, and why don’t you plan on hanging out with me on my facebook page this year?  It’s a good time.  For reals.