“Oh, that sounds great. Let me finish this one thing and then we’ll watch,” said my wife.
“Hmmm. Awkward. We weren’t talking to you,” was the reply.
Father Daughter Watching TV
The conversation was about watching “Friday Night Lights”, our (latest) favorite television show on Netflix. I wish I could tell you that the response was from our bratty teenage daughter, but unfortunately, it was from me. My daughter and I were plotting to watch season three, episode one.
The show is great. It’s about football, teenagers, ethics, morality, relationships, and general life lessons. Though it’s framed as a show about football, it’s scope is so much wider. (If you haven’t seen it, I HIGHLY recommend it!). But even better, my daughter loves it. AND she likes watching it with me. It’s become our thing. We text each other, and can’t wait to squeeze in an episode of FNL (as the die-hard fans call it).
We generally let our wife/mother watch with us. (Although, she asks too many questions.) She knew that my obnoxious response was just a joke, and we all shared a good, hearty laugh.
Using TV For Bonding With Daughter
But for my daughter and I, it has turned into a great shared escape from whatever else is going on—school, social issues, work, responsibilities. For 43 minutes (or 86 if we can’t bring ourselves to turn it off after one episode) we just hang out together and enjoy sharing the experience. And the sharing continues after the final credits. We talk about Coach Taylor, Tim Riggins, and the Panthers when we’re not watching. The characters are like friends. It’s our thing, and it’s wonderful.
As we just turned off the television at 11:30 p.m. following our second episode of “Friday Night Lights,” I realized that I would not be getting up early to exercise in the morning. It was a good trade. A couple of extra pounds for spending time with my daughter. I’ll buy larger clothes.
