On My Mind: The Family Grades the Blog

I'm an old-school sort. No, I'm not one of these dinosaurs that doesn't know how to turn on a computer, much less use one. I may not be able to run anyone's I.T. department, but I'm definitely tech savvy enough to survive. However, there are still certain things I prefer to do the way we did them "back in the day." Writing is one of those things. About ninety percent of the posts on this blog were written out long-hand on a piece of paper first. Ironically, this is not one of them. I also write a lot more than just movie reviews.This means if you spend some time in my home on a regular basis you'll get quite used to the sight of me scribbling in my notebook.

My children know that sight well. They are also very aware that Daddy has a movie blog. All three of them have been known to pick up the notebook I write reviews in and flip through it, looking only at the scores I give. Generally speaking, they disagree with them. After I hear the rustling of a few pages, I'll inevitably be asked "How could you only give THIS movie a (low number), but you gave that a (high number)? THIS movie is way better than that one. What were you thinking? If I actually try to explain what I was thinking, I am met by a glazing over of the eyes and/or a rolling of them. Often, I'm told I like boring movies. Occasionally, this little family brouhaha spills online. No, my kids don't take to bashing me on social media or anything. Yet. However, when they see this site on the screen, they'll ask me to scroll through it, if they haven't peeked in my book recently, Of course, the same scene plays out. They only see the scores, don't read a single word, and question my sanity. As much as she disagrees with me about nearly every score, I can't help but be most amused by my youngest daughter. Without even trying, she musters an overwhelming sense of cuteness as she spots the titles of the movies she's seen, the corresponding scores, and almost invariably tells me "You shoulda gave that a 10."

I actually watch most of the movies I review, alone. After all, I'm a bit of a night-owl and most titles are either inappropriate for the kids or is something they're not interested in, anyway. Still, on the weekends we usually watch a movie or two together. Knowledge of this blog has led to a few comments during, and certainly immediately after, one of these viewing sessions. A typical comment is "I bet Daddy's gonna give this like a 2." And this isn't just the kids. The wife gets in on this, too. She typically agrees. Not only are they trying to gauge my tastes, it's morphed into a way of calling me weird. By that, I mean the way they say it feels like "Us normal people like this movie, but Daddy doesn't."

They can also sense if I like what we are watching, they think. Maybe, it's how intently I am looking at the screen, or how dismissively I shush them when they address me. On these occasions, they might wait until the credits start rolling and just flat out ask what I'll give it. I remember all the snide remarks and cross looks. For that, I take the smallest measure of that candy known as revenge. I fix my mouth into the most evil smile I can manage and say "You'll just have to wait and see."



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