much more than a hunch

8:30 pm, half an hour until bedtime. It had been a long, hot day and we were all pretty cashed out and ready to veg in front of the tv. I join the kids on the couch and try to commandeer the remote, but they doth protest too much. I refused to watch their nickelodeon nonsense, the laugh tracks make me want to rip my ears off. It bothers me even more than the sneaker squeaking in basketball, and that bothers me a lot.

But I digress. We endeavored to find a middle ground, something we could watch together. There is a very short list of shows we have found that occasionally fit this bill, but a successful consensus always depends on everyone’s mood and general disposition.

There’s Untamed and Uncut on Animal Planet, Challenge on the Food Network, the ubiquitous America’s Funniest Videos, and everyone’s favorite: Survivor. But none of these gems were available at that particular moment, so I started to browse the less frequented channels for something else.

And then I saw it, and I knew that if I approached it correctly I might just have found a new family tradition.

"Hey, know how you guys are always asking about what Daddy and I used to watch on tv when we were your age?"

Yeah

"Do you want to watch one of those shows?"

Not the outhouse one!

"No, darlings, not the wholesome and wildly exuberant Ingalls family in their Little House on the Prairie. I’ve got one that mommy and daddy both used to watch! Wanna see? "

Yeah!

"Wanna hear the theme song?"

Yeah!

I obliged, with gusto:

Here’s a story, of a lovely lady, who was bringing up three very lovely girls. All of them had hair of gold, like their mother, the youngest one in curls….

.
And I paused significantly, sending urgent brain messages to my husband in the kitchen. Suddenly, he lifted his head, our eyes locked, and he piped in:
.

It’s the story, of a man named Brady, who was busy with three boys of his own. They were four men living all together, yet they were all alone… ..

And, to the amusement and shame of our children, my husband and I finished out the duet in harmony:
.
Till the one day when the lady met this fella, and they knew that it was much more than a hunch. That this group must somehow form a family. That’s the way they all became the Brady Bunch! The Brady Bunch! The Brady Bunch! That’s the waaaay theey becaaame the Braaaaa-Deeee Bunch! Da na de-na DA, Da na de-na dun dun dun DUN!

I've got a feeling that this is gonna be good….