In which I am stalling and being pretty random

[impulsereader]

I can't be the only one who shops for kids books and ends up with a pile 'for me' right? Sadly, last night I had to abandon all but the gorgeous, over-size volume Art Institute Favorite Impressionist Paintings. There was no way I was driving into the city - solidarity, chloris! - but, as usual, I cheerfully ignored the fact that three birthdays requires a number of books which tends to be incompatible with the size of my bag and the strength in my arms. I ended up with some pretty volumes, though. Now I have to get some wrapping supplies and finish up - so I'm stalling.

Fortysomething – I’m re-watching this and really enjoying the sons. They’re all pretty good actors and they’re used well. What confuses me is the fact that the characters most of the time refer to their parents by name and are apparently free to invite anyone they please to come live in their bedrooms with them. I’m an only child raised by a single mother so a lot of ‘family’ things strike me as odd, but this takes the cake.

An inconvenience of Holmeses?

Comments

[northernwalker]

I can't be the only one who shops for kids books and ends up with a pile 'for me' right?

Substitute books for my parents and yep, this is me.

I never called my parents by their names, and as for inviting people to move in with us- that would not have gone over well.

[impulsereader.livejournal.com]

Books are addictive. :-) Ugh. I must launch a clean-up/dust/organize/shelve project soon.

The series is funny, and it's based on a book so I'm guessing the casual relationship between parents/sons is a carryover. It totally works for the show, it's really funny! It's just that I'm sitting on the couch thinking, 'no, just no. it's weird that parents would be OK with that.' so it's a little distracting at times.

[natsuko1978.livejournal.com]

I call my Mum by her name sometimes - when we're having a "friends" conversation or I'm having a go at her, or she's teasing me and I call her a bitch....

And sometimes when we're talking about my Dad, we're taling about "Vic", though I would never call him that to his face. ("Vati", yes, Vic, no.)

And my younger brother had various girls stay overnight in his bedroom at our parents, by no means all of them long-term girlfriends... (I'm asexual, so it was never an issue for me.)

[djarum99.livejournal.com]

I cannot be trusted in book stores or garden centers. I have to take a minder, lest I fill my car, break the bank, and overload my bookshelves or flower beds.

[impulsereader.livejournal.com]

Sigh. And my shelves are already full. I am constantly shifting and re-shelving and double stacking - my library area is like a semi-successful game of tetris with piles of books on the floor which must be navigated to get to and from the reading chair.

[f-m-r-l.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty sure that my parents see the practice of children calling their parents by the parents' first names as a sign of the end times. It was whispered that it happened somewhere, but not around us. Children didn't address any adults by their first names in our community. And adults would often address their spouses as 'Mother' or 'Father' etc. when talking in front of their kids. That's got to wreck hell on one's romantic life, trying to sleep with someone that one is in the habit of calling 'Mother' or 'Father'.

[impulsereader.livejournal.com]

It's funny, and it works well in the series because we've got eldest son Rory (Benedict C) being much more competent at life than his father (Hugh Laurie) but it leads to plenty of moments where I'm pulled out of the narrative thinking, 'nope, parents just wouldn't do that'.

[chloris.livejournal.com]

No. No you're not. Anytime I manage to find a bookstore (and that's more difficult these days since Borders went under), the 'for me' pile tends to get rather large.

There was no way I was driving into the city - solidarity, chloris!

Heh. I'm done with my once a decade experiment and it's back to public transport for me!

I never saw Fortysomething but children calling their parents by name is weird. My parents are quite definitely still Mom and Dad and always will be. As for inviting people to live with me while I'm living with my parents - that would not ever happen in our family.