Television was our love language -- especially season six of Downton Abbey
But, in my heart, April is the month of mothers, for mine died last year on the 26th of this month, while Val’s mother died on the 7th in 1999. We speak often of these fine women, as one should of those we have loved in a deep and formative way. And for me, I must confess, this includes talking about television.
My mother and I used television as a love language between us. We spent many a happy hour watching our favourite movies and shows together. This was no mere passive past-time; no, no. We wouldn’t just sit and watch, waiting for something to happen. Goodness, no. We provided our own commentary, speculations and assessments of the action and the actors, of the plot, the setting and the language. All while eating supper on a tray, followed by potato chips and chocolate, accompanied by tea or sparkling water. What a good time we would have being together and doing this.
Some of the things we watched we both knew so well that we could practically recite the dialogue. Although that was never our point. Our point was being in each other’s company and sharing our time doing something we deeply enjoyed. My mother had a prodigious capacity for binge watching; episode after episode, we would make our way through an entire season in one evening’s watch.
Our favourite series included Downton Abbey, Last Tango in Halifax, As Time Goes By, and Call the Midwife, and among our favourite films The Queen, Sleepless in Seattle, and Hopscotch. We enjoyed the stories, appreciated the plots (predictable, maybe, but enduring in their unfolding), and loved the characters (so many of them British — oh, those accents; ah, that scenery). We wanted to be in their company, because those characters were people to us, people we wanted to spend time with, and the landscape felt like home to us, so we imagined ourselves being there in it.
And so, this April, I am being in the company of them again and, in so being, am in the company of my mother, again, too. Take your comfort where you can, I say. You’ll find me with Juliet Ashton and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and with the Crawleys at Downton Abbey. I’ll surface when I’ve had my fill.
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| My late mother, Anne, in her comfortable chair, TV remote in hand, watching a favourite series during my visit in November 2019. |
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Land acknowledgement: I respectfully recognize that I live on the original lands of Anishinaabe, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota and Dene peoples, and on the homeland of the Métis Nation.
TV Photo by PJ Gal-Szabo on Unsplash
It's not a bad way of connecting! My daughter and I live together, and it's an evening ritual for us. We don't binge watch, but restrict ourselves to two or three episodes of a series, or one movie per night, with dinner. You can really get through a backlog of viewing that way! Since our friends refer to us as "The Gilmore Girls", I said, "We should watch that next!" SHE had already seen it, but is always generous about re-watching anything with me, and it brings some extra enjoyment. We are well into Season 3 at the moment. Our tastes are broad and similar, so the next thing we watch will be something very different from this.
ReplyDeleteThinking of your dear mum this month, Amanda. That's a charming photo of her!
I sat in that same place with the same view, my favourite was, forever and for always, "As Time Goes By". She WAS SO GOOD at binge watching, hated it when I had to go home...just one more, she'd say. Crying...oh those memories.
ReplyDeleteI love this piece of writing, Amanda! Your story reminds me of when I was a child living up north. Oftentimes my father would have to fly out of town on a small plane heading even further up north to fix some telecommunications problem. My mother and I would be left to our own devices. Our supper routine involved heating up what we called a TV dinner in the oven (I’m not sure that microwaves had been invented. In any case, we did not have one.) And then we set up TV trays in the living room in front of the TV and watched whatever happened to be on. Usually we started with the soap opera, The Edge of Night. If it was a weekend, we watched movies late into the evening. Sometimes so late that when the movie ended those colourful repetitive lines filled the TV screen. Even after we moved south to the city, the only time we ever watched TV eating supper was when my father was away. It was a glorious, sneaky thing for us girls.
ReplyDeleteThe photo of your late mother is very touching.
ReplyDeleteI love this story with a delightful glimpse into the very special relationship that you had with your mom. 🤗
ReplyDeleteLoving memories mold a person well. TV was a large tie with families in the early days when television came onto the scene. Westerns hold a very warm spot in my heart due to my dad whom we watched every western series possible sharing popcorn. Thank you Amanda.
ReplyDeleteGuernsey PPS is one of my favourite happy movies. When I was a tween, I was the only one in my friend group with a tv in my room. My parents gave it to me so my mom could watch her Thursday shows and my dad could watch his. It was the one day where their passions didn’t align. So, I was also the only tween watching Knots Landing and Dallas. 😂 - Jenn
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