Bet Maaam...Maury's On

Harry Harry Harry.  My 17 year old quick witted, sometimes smart mouthed and who is the child who is clever in his arguments.  I hope he becomes an attorney, good gracious he would be a great one!  He's the child that thinks that the worst thing you can say is no & no doesn't always mean no from the parental units.  His cute clear blue eyes will look at me & say bet maaam.  (it's really but mom & it's what Cartman says on South Park, but it sounds like bet maaan.)  Because I tend to see things in black & white, it's hard when he pushes his limits.  Black and white ~ good, you know where you stand...shades of grey ~ bad, too much unknown.

Harry told me today that he hasn't had the chance to watch his favorite show, Maury Povich, in forever.  He loves to talk about what's going on on the shows.  He comes down and says with a grin on his face & little laugh to his voice:  "OK mom, you're not going to believe this.  There is this woman that drinks out of the toilet & allows her fiance to beat her with a broom."  OR  "Mom, this woman has come on the show 27 times to find her baby-daddy & she still hasn't found him."  Oh my, what the....  My question to Harry is why?  Why does he want to watch this trash?  Why do he & his friends like get together to have a Mauryfest?  He gets excited when it comes on tv.

You know, I asked him why.  He said: "Mooom, it's educational.  I'm learning what not to be."  I was so surprised by that answer that I couldn't think of a good comeback.  He's right, he's learning how not to be, but wow.  Well, right now, Maury is on in the kitchen blaring in my ear because Harry wanted to make some popcorn and not miss any of the show.  I'm just shaking my head.  At least there is a silver lining.  Kali Muscle, some huge muscle man who spent 10 years in prison, is putting these guys in their place, and they have a psychologist who is willing to help the men realize what they are doing is wrong.  The psychologist said:  "I don't know karate, but I know ca-razy, and these men are it".  I need to remember that line.

Well great, now I'm drawn in.  I'm watching this muscle guy & psychologist work on these guys.  It's pretty cool.  They actually didn't scream & yell at them; they had them watch a video.  They talked in calm voices about hurting someone you claim to care about.  It was a nice change of pace, because a lot of the shows contain a lot of screaming.  Could it be totally staged?  Absolutely.  Could it potentially help someone?  Yes, it could.

Why do I allow Harry to watch this show?  Because it's not hurting him.  It's all about perspective I guess.  He could be a troublemaker.  He could be going out on the weekends raising all kinds of cain.  He could be really hateful to his siblings, but most of the time he's not.  That's why I let him watch it.  Plus, we have some great conversations because of the show.  So, go ahead & watch your show Harry, we'll talk about it later.

Celebrating Life & crazy kids,
~ashley