I don’t know about you but watching a show on television that has too much drama, really annoys me. It’s not that the story isn’t special or touching. It’s just the way the producers try to draw you into the story that bugs me I guess. I have enough emotions to deal with, frankly. Please don't put more on the plate. Thank you very much!
Yeah, that sounds a bit like a grumpy old man. And, I would have to agree, but, I’ve always felt that way. I remember as a kid, we often used to stay at my Grandmother’s home during the work week so my mother could work.
Grandma, bless her heart, had a routine. It was Good Morning America, The Price is Right, and then the soaps began. They started with The Young and the Restless and then worked into As the World Turns and others I just can’t remember because, by that time of the day, I was outside playing in the creek by their home or doing anything to avoid the drama.
She wasn’t the kind to cry when we watched the shows. No, she liked the mystery of what was going to happen next to a person or family. Mrs. Chandler, on The Young and the Restless, was one of her characters she loved to hate and has a place in my mind because of her manipulative, controlling (and evil) way she treated everyone on the show. Yeah, some of the stories stuck with me (MAN CARD REVOKED).
Maybe it is a man thing. I don’t know. In real life, when I see someone in real pain or emotionally troubled, it’s as though I can feel their pain and often cry (just ask the Mrs.). Cry inside, that is… ahem…
The Mrs. and I were talking earlier today about an emotional thing (not between us) we faced recently. After about twenty minutes, I just couldn’t talk about it anymore, even though I was the one who started the conversation. Thankfully, she didn’t smack me for being rude, but the drama of it all was just a little more than my emotional meter could register, if you know what I mean.
What’s the alternative? We all have emotions. Men too. Being raised in my generation, men weren’t supposed to show emotions, or they were considered to be a ‘Sissy’. Today, anything goes. Not me, when it comes to showing emotions, I’m in the middle between old school and anything goes (more old school to tell the truth).
For some people, life is a soap opera. They feed on the drama and draw everyone around them into it. I affectionately refer to those people as, ‘Drama Queens’ because, no matter what, drama follows them around every day.
Now, I know we all need to vent and express our feelings with someone we trust. In counseling class, they taught us to listen by mirroring a person’s feelings back to them. It was one of the best lessons I could have taken from that course.
People don’t want to be told how to solve their issues. They just need someone to listen and understand. The answer usually comes out just by talking. It’s important for our own emotional health that we find resolution and vent once in a while.
So, today, here’s to being willing to listen. Even, when all we can think of is another episode of As the World Turns. And, here’s to being willing to open-up to others who we trust with our emotions. Even when it’s embarrassing. I’ll leave you with the classic clip of Rodney Dangerfield going to a therapist below for your viewing entertainment tonight.
