Well That Was Fun

So yesterday morning started with my eyes snapping open at 6am. I tugged at Dan, my entire body a ball of Christmas morning-like energy. “Heeeheeee. I’m gonna be on TV in 2 hours. Heeeheeee.”

He was unannoyed but unmoved as I rocked him back and forth with my hands. “Heeheee. Are you excited? I’m famous. I’m famous for the day, remember?”

Shortly after 7am my posse started arriving with food and kids. Eve brought crepes and several other friends showed up for a potluck breakfast in our pajamas. The kids ran around in total chaos and we ate and analyzed the little teasers for my segment.

It was on, everyone screamed and squealed and then and it was over.

The full segment can be found here. NCS is apparently even more techie than I am, although not nearly as nerdy, and she posted this YouTube collage of my portions of the broadcast so you can watch it here for the condensed commercial-free all-DYM version.

So, there you have it. Looking back, I have a few thoughts on the experience and the final piece. First off, I majored in documentary film in college. My favorite films are not just documentaries but SPARSE documentaries, no lighting, no makeup, no background music, no narration, just simply-made films of people telling their stories. I certainly would never use a fuzzy filter or jazzy music in one of my films.

However, when I agreed to do the Today Show, I knew I was going on a morning news magazine which is basically the opposite of my film style and I was okay with that. I liked being called “today’s tech mom” with giant letters across my face. I wish I’d been called “today’s TECHNO mom” and had dance music playing in the background.

Strangely I even enjoyed having my picture sliced and whizzed off to the side, although I would have preferred the freeze-frame to fold up like a cube and roll off the screen.

I was a little saddened to be on the show the same day as Sanjaya. I sort of feel like he was all up in my spotlight but I will likely get over the bitterness in time. My friends were quick to point out that everyone in my house screamed and cheered for my segment and he didn’t get nearly as warm of an audience response.

I also mourn the fact that they didn’t show the footage of Dan and I smooching as I said goodbye to him that morning. It’s in the can somewhere at NBC so technically I guess they could whip it out at any time for a segment about parents who teach their kids by example that making out is okay, especially in front of a TV crew.

Of course I think all three moms should have gotten more air time, a chance to tell our stories rather than have them summed up for us and possibly the chance for me to be discovered by some film producer looking to make a movie about nerd moms who wear layers and have allergic reactions to their own lipstick.

My favorite part of the piece has got to be Laylee yelling “COOOKIE!” as we strolled the dairy isle, followed by me laughing semi-maniacally. The film snob and Canuck in me was also pleased that the segment started with a clip from one of the National Film Board of Canada animated short videos we love.

The sound bites were sound-bitey but if you break down the main themes covered in the piece, I have to say I agree with nearly all of them.

As mothers today we have more choices than our mothers had.

Technology can be a great help if we use it wisely and don’t let it add unneeded stress to our lives.

Although I think we tread on dangerous ground when we even TRY to define “the perfect mom”, I appreciated that the definition was not a rigid indictment or endorsement of any one lifestyle or personality-type. What they said was that ideally a mom pursues her own interests as well as taking care of her family.

They talked about sharing your passions with your child. I think I’m doing a great job at this. Magoo is fully in love with shoes and the other day when I took Laylee’s picture, she asked me to “upload it to the server” so we could send it out to everyone. We also do pilates together and all three of us enjoy a good shopping cart race when the aisles are clear. And, as noted previously, Dan and I share our passions with the kids every morning as I say goodbye to him at the door.

All the moms at my house had to laugh when the survey results mentioned that the majority of moms today think their life is harder, sadder and more stressful than mothers 20 years ago. OF COURSE moms today think that. What were we all doing 20 years ago? Calling our mom from school, asking her to bring our forgotten homework assignment. Doing ALL THE CHORES because our lazy mom was such a slave driver. Spending time asking for name brand jeans because the mortgage paid itself. Of course things are harder and more stressful now than they were 20 years ago. 20 years ago, we had no concept of what it meant to be the mom. She made it look easy so it must have been, right?

Overall I think it was quite positive, not nearly as polarizing or divisive as so much of the parenting media I see. What did you think of the segment?