Chicken Trolls

It’s official.  This is a cold.

There’s something counterintuitive about a summer cold, yes?  I can’t figure out if I want to curl up in a blanket, sit out on the porch in the heat, or turn the air on full blast.  All within a half hour time span.

Nevertheless, our Princess and I have succumbed to the grasp of The Cold, leaving us pretty puny and leaving my oldest and our little guy, whose symptoms earlier in the week were brushed over as “allergies,” feeling deprived of proper sympathy.  Yep, bad Mama.

I share all of this not to get sympathy–this too shall pass, as Mama would say, but to explain why I wound up where I did tonight.

We celebrated the graduation of the ABAN women today with cake and friends and family, fighting the exhaustion and constantly turning our heads and using hand sanitizer.  This afternoon I was able to get a nap, which was much needed I guess, because I was there for a while.

Then this evening after feeding the crew a simple supper, I found myself sitting in front of the tv in the comfy chair with the remote in MY hand.  (That almost never happens–it’s like the lining up of the earth, moon, and sun.)  I considered zoning out in front of the newest tween movie that our Princess absolutely LOVES.  Then it hit me.

Saturday night.

PBS.

Britcoms!  Whoo hoo!

For as long as I can remember our local PBS station has shown the Britcoms on Saturday nights.  The shows have changed over the years, but they have always been British comedies.  I am something of an Anglophile, so I loved watching these with my family when I was growing up.

Over the years I think my parents’ favorite was “No, Honestly!” because they thought the young wife was adorable and funny without trying to be.  Then Mrs. Bucket (pronounced Boo-kay) of “Keeping Up Appearances” took over in our house.  We would tease each other as we sat down to supper at the table, “Don’t brush against Mama’s walls,” a pet peeve of Mrs. Bucket’s and Mama’s too, as it turned out.  We would imitate Onslow, in his exclamation of “Oh NICE!”  How many Saturday nights I spent sitting in the living room, with my legs over one arm of the chair in the corner and my head propped on the other.  We laughed together so much through “Keeping Up Appearances,” “Are You Being Served?” (John Inman is a brilliant comic actor!), “No Honestly!,” “The Vicar of Dibley” (such a fun ensemble–possibly my favorite group), “As Time Goes By” (I adore Dame Judi Dench!), and so many others.

Mama and Daddy even watched Doctor Who before it was cool.  I never could get into the show very much, but it tickles my oldest, who is a Dr. Who fanatic, to know that her grandparents loved it way back when.  There were so many others I can’t remember the names of–one was about a woman married to a bumbling superhero, but of course, no one else could know.  Funny stuff.

Tonight sitting there laughing over reruns of these Britcoms brought back happy memories of times long ago, back when I took the company of my family for granted in a good way.  It did for my soul what comfort food does for me when I’m under the weather.  It was healing and I could hear the echoes of laughter from long ago in the air, lifting my spirits.  They say “starve a fever and feed a cold,” and I’ve never really understood exactly what that meant.  But I can say, if you aren’t feeling good, grab something comforting to sip on, a box of tissues, a blanket if need be, and turn on the Britcoms.  It’s good for what ails you.  And if it doesn’t actually make you feel better, I promise it can make you forget about it for a little while, a funny half hour at the time.