Stranger Things

I needed to take a break from writing the blog.  Like many I am emotionally and mentally drained by the state of the country, the world and the lack of discussion that seems to have infected our lives.   There are no conversations, we are all guilty of this, there is only your side and my side.   For many facts no longer matter, for those for who they do shouting them does not make them easier to hear on the other side.   We cannot go on like that, I cannot go on like that.  I am not that person - I am a facts person, I am a debate person, I grit my teeth and support your right to an opinion, not when it differs with mine but because it may differ from mine.   So I needed some soul searching, recharging time.  This blog was never meant to be my political platform only, yes it is sometimes but it is not it’s main purpose.   So here I am back, on a day where I can take my frustration and actually do something.  It is voting day - a most precious of rights that I never miss because I know what it is like to not have them.

On that note when I was thinking of blogs and having my current events swirl it felt a bit like I was in the Upside Down.  Now if you are a fan of the show “Stranger Things” then you know what that is, if you haven’t seen this Netflix original it is the place in the show that is our world, but dark, infected with shadows and monsters, where nothing thrives.   

My boys and I started watching the show last year, season 1 debut.   It is not for those who scare easily but my boys got my scary movie/show addiction.  I love them, my father and I watched them when I was a kid.  I refuse to watch torture films, they are just disturbing.  I still cannot hear “Jeepers Creepers” without remembering one of the more horrifying movies I saw of that name.  Yet a good jump scare and this girl gets a thrill. 

Why do we love “Stranger Things”?   We waited for it an stalked it on line until we saw the second season, doing our best not to binge watch and to prolong the experience.  We found ways to sneak it into our days to finish the second season and then complain like we did after the first that there were no more episodes.   

It is a clever show, the main characters are kids who are put in the position to use their wits to defeat something that many adults don’t even realize is present and dangerous.   It gives my boys and I the opportunity to talk about what “we” would do.  I love the 1984 setting, yes I am reliving some of my youth.   The music is spot on, the trends exactly as I remember them.   The angst of that age not that different than some of the angst kids today experience.   I watch with fascination how easily people turned into "old people" who complain that kids are loud, that they are not as polite, that they don't listen, that they do things like drink and misbehave.  I have a hard time not reminding them that most of us did those same things, some less and some more, but we laughed at the people who made those same arguments.  

Watching the show gives the boys and I a chance to talk about me at that age, at their ages.   It gives us family time.   We have to sit close, there are scary scenes, it makes us angry that there is a conspiracy behind this.   It shows the characters dealing not only with the netherworld monsters but those that kids face day to day, bullying, falling in love, unrequited love, uncomfortable situations, not being heard because they are kids.   

Spending time with kids while they still want to should never be turned down because around teenage years most want time with friends, I did too, and that is what will happen.   They will come back around as adults for the most part.  I treasure the time I have with my boys, we share info, we laugh, we build trust.   

So find your “Stranger Things” if you can and enjoy the parenting moments you get where there is no  discussion on homework, activities, you saying no, them rolling their eyes.   Enjoy the togetherness and build your memories together.   Otherwise the overwhelming crap in the world will take more of your time than it deserves.     Oh and if you were wondering - we look nothing like this picture, my family growing up never did either because one of the first rules of my parental home was change from your outside clothes.