Turning into Marmby
I'm turning into Marmby. Marmby is what we call my mom in a joking way (our family all has nicknames). I'm pretty sure I've written about this before but can't really find it, maybe I've just chatted about it with Em. Ok so I'm not going to buy a travel shirt (love you Mom, but I don't wear colors) but some days I'm convinced I'm turning into Marmby.
When I listen to the radio or watch TV I feel like I'm channeling my mother (who is wonderful by the way). When we were kids she was really cautious about what we could watch and listen to. I won't say that we lived sheltered lives, because we did see the sun, and we were pretty well informed on current events, but she was pretty careful to keep profanity, violence, and sex out of our home. She would turn off the radio if an inappropriate song came on, she was quick to change the channel, return the movie, etc. As a teen I thought it was annoying (sorry Mom). My friends' parents let them watch rated R movies, listen to whatever they wanted, and my mom and I were fighting over the Gilmore Girls. Somewhere along the way I grew up and had my own kids... and I became Marmby.
When I hear something on the radio, people talking, or come across a show/video with anything not kid appropriate it is like sirens are going off, it makes me uncomfortable, and I want to change it. My darling 3 year old is smart and he picks up on things so fast. I fear that he will pick on some of this stuff and that he won't be as "innocent" as he is now. And that makes me sad. It makes me sad that someday he will know that the world can be harsh, that people are mean, and that sometimes things don't work out. The other day I had someone ask me what we listen to in the car since I don't like to let Michael listen to the radio for fear something awful, whether a commercial, song, or DJ commentary will come on (ok let's be honest, I'm still a fan of Kenny Chesney and Mikey can sing some of the songs by heart). At first I was taken aback, this is when I realized I had become Marmby, I don't know what I told her, but it got me thinking. We listen to a LOT of NPR, though less now that it brings up questions that we can wait on for a year or so, LOTS and LOTS of audiobooks (Juvinille fiction and on the rare occasion Young Adult), Disney songs, "classical music", and hymns. My kids were stoked this week because I bought a Hilary Weeks album... yes we have become those people. They LOVE the Piano Guys and the Dallas String Quartet. The other day Michael heard One Direction sing one of the songs the Piano Guys play and he was confused, yes friend the song has words... not the version you know, but the real one. But you know, at this point I'm cool with it. Who needs Katie Perry when you can delve into the magical world of books? Who needs Beyonce when you can learn about the world around you? We have made our way through several series: The Percy Jackson books (both series), the 39 Clues, the Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel, Harry Potter, Magyk (as much as the library had), the Lunar Chronicles, Atlantia (new, and we recommend it even though it's not a series), the Hunger Games (ok they didn't listen to these), The Kane Chronicles, Harry Potter (more than twice), and most recently Charlie Bone and the Red King series. It has been so fun to talk with Michael about these books, to watch his imagination come alive as we play Quidditch with Harry, travel with Percy, and search for the Red King with Charlie. So for now, I'm cool with being Marmby. I'm cool not knowing about the latest songs, videos, and shows. and sure I am not perfect, I still think that Friends has it's hilarious moments, and Kenny Chesney will always be a favorite, but I'm starting to see the method to Marmby's madness, and instead of scaring me it's starting to make sense.
When I listen to the radio or watch TV I feel like I'm channeling my mother (who is wonderful by the way). When we were kids she was really cautious about what we could watch and listen to. I won't say that we lived sheltered lives, because we did see the sun, and we were pretty well informed on current events, but she was pretty careful to keep profanity, violence, and sex out of our home. She would turn off the radio if an inappropriate song came on, she was quick to change the channel, return the movie, etc. As a teen I thought it was annoying (sorry Mom). My friends' parents let them watch rated R movies, listen to whatever they wanted, and my mom and I were fighting over the Gilmore Girls. Somewhere along the way I grew up and had my own kids... and I became Marmby.
When I hear something on the radio, people talking, or come across a show/video with anything not kid appropriate it is like sirens are going off, it makes me uncomfortable, and I want to change it. My darling 3 year old is smart and he picks up on things so fast. I fear that he will pick on some of this stuff and that he won't be as "innocent" as he is now. And that makes me sad. It makes me sad that someday he will know that the world can be harsh, that people are mean, and that sometimes things don't work out. The other day I had someone ask me what we listen to in the car since I don't like to let Michael listen to the radio for fear something awful, whether a commercial, song, or DJ commentary will come on (ok let's be honest, I'm still a fan of Kenny Chesney and Mikey can sing some of the songs by heart). At first I was taken aback, this is when I realized I had become Marmby, I don't know what I told her, but it got me thinking. We listen to a LOT of NPR, though less now that it brings up questions that we can wait on for a year or so, LOTS and LOTS of audiobooks (Juvinille fiction and on the rare occasion Young Adult), Disney songs, "classical music", and hymns. My kids were stoked this week because I bought a Hilary Weeks album... yes we have become those people. They LOVE the Piano Guys and the Dallas String Quartet. The other day Michael heard One Direction sing one of the songs the Piano Guys play and he was confused, yes friend the song has words... not the version you know, but the real one. But you know, at this point I'm cool with it. Who needs Katie Perry when you can delve into the magical world of books? Who needs Beyonce when you can learn about the world around you? We have made our way through several series: The Percy Jackson books (both series), the 39 Clues, the Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel, Harry Potter, Magyk (as much as the library had), the Lunar Chronicles, Atlantia (new, and we recommend it even though it's not a series), the Hunger Games (ok they didn't listen to these), The Kane Chronicles, Harry Potter (more than twice), and most recently Charlie Bone and the Red King series. It has been so fun to talk with Michael about these books, to watch his imagination come alive as we play Quidditch with Harry, travel with Percy, and search for the Red King with Charlie. So for now, I'm cool with being Marmby. I'm cool not knowing about the latest songs, videos, and shows. and sure I am not perfect, I still think that Friends has it's hilarious moments, and Kenny Chesney will always be a favorite, but I'm starting to see the method to Marmby's madness, and instead of scaring me it's starting to make sense.
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