Drama, Drama, Drama

Have you watched your PBS today?

Mr. Knightley and I are obsessed with Downton Abbey, and we’re not ashamed to admit it. After all, we have always been more of the period piece and “Yeah! Cravats!” types, and the second season of this lovely drama has just finished airing on PBS Masterpiece this month.

In honor of this series, Mr. Knightly and I have actually developed a “Downton” ritual of our very own. As the opening “Downton” credits roll and that haunting theme music plays, we flick our fingers at the screen and chant, “Drama! Drama! Drama!” This, in case you were wondering, takes all the drama out of our own lives and instills it in whatever episode of “Downton” we are watching. And trust me, “Downton Abbey” can take your drama in stride. She can eat it up and give you sweet catharsis back without so much as raising a carefully shaped upstairs eyebrow or creasing a neatly pressed downstairs apron.

May I recommend this scapegoat practice to you? I think you will see “dramatic” improvements in your life, as well. J

"Sometimes, at nighttime, I glow."

Have you thought about superpowers lately? Do you know what you would choose, given the opportunity?

The other night, as we were driving home from picking up Thing 1 at dance and just talking about random stuff in the car, Thing 2 very seriously announced to me, “Mom, sometimes, at nighttime, I glow.” Apparently, he had quietly been giving some serious thought to the subject of superpowers in the backseat.

Out of all the superpowers in the world, I found it interesting that Thing 2 chose “glowing.” I mean, it could definitely be useful at times. You know, dark times. Those of you who have seen the movie “Sky High” will undoubtedly be having a chuckle right now. I know Thing 1 and I definitely did. And then, of course, we complimented Thing 2 on picking such a cool superpower.

This discussion reminded me of the hours spent talking about superpowers with Thing 1 when he was close to the same age as Thing 2 now. Thing 1 choose the superpower of having awesome plastic container boots:

And the superpower of cool action poses. Please make sure to adequately appreciate the overalls worn as a cape here:

SuperThing1 from Jennifer Alton on Vimeo.

So yes, perhaps my boys’ selected superpowers may be slightly unconventional. I mean, they are my children after all. Given the choice, I would probably choose something like the power of super disco roller skating jumps or having real fairy wings, so Thing 1 and Thing 2 didn’t fall far from the funny tree.

But even if Thing 2 doesn’t glow for real, at least he does have the superpower of amazing bubbly bath hair. I mean, it could really change the world.