We Love Lucy

My little girls have just discovered a new show.

OK, maybe it's not so new....In fact, maybe it's one of the oldest classic TV shows in Americana.

One morning, a few weeks ago, I was hunting around for a "kid show" and stumbled on the listing for "I Love Lucy." I'm not for sure, but I think maybe my usual routine was upset and the computer was down. At any rate, I suddenly felt like sitting back with my morning coffee and sharing with my girls the classic show made a half century before their birth.

At first, my five year old was very disappointed not be seeing her expected Diego or Little Einsteins. But as the show wore on, and Lucy was up to her old antics, even she was laughing along with us.

I have long been a lover of classics...classic movies, classic old shows...and now, to get to share these with my girls is so much fun for me! Even though I've seen each one of these episodes 30 times over, I'm seeing them new through the eyes of my little ones...just like with everything else in life.

Lucy, Ethel, and Fred putting on a hula show to try and convince Ricky to take them on his business trip to Honolulu had us giggling this morning....and last week, was the famous "Lucy has her baby" episode! (For you trivia buffs, that episode broke records as the highest viewing ever. 72% of all homes were glued to their sets that night in 1953!)

Believe it or not, there is one thing about this show that as a parent in this new century, sticks out like a sore thumb...
Why is it that Lucy and Ricky can't get through more than one scene without a cigarette in their hand? It seems so foreign a concept to see these people smoking like chimneys on each and every show. (And I know it had something to do with their show's sponsor, a tobacco company...) I can almost smell the smoke coming through my screen.
Needless to say, I have added some comments along this line as we watch, and my girls know all about the dangers of smoking!
But aside from this, the show is such fun, and gives them a glimpse of another era. Yet, the humor is timeless.

Of course, we limit TV viewing around here...honestly.
But some mornings, Mommy let's them watch just a little bit longer. Because right after Lucy comes the cheerful music of another wonderful classic from the 50's...

Sharing I love Lucy and Leave it to Beaver with my 21st century kids? Who can resist?

Gee, Wally...not me!