The Mommy Filter

We changed satellite providers so we can watch BYU football games. Now we find out it doesn't carry the channel with most of the Jazz games but that's another diatribe for another time. With the new subscription we get three months of HBO free. First thing we did was block all movies that were rated R. Next we looked through the guide and found movies we hadn't seen and wanted to see, had seen and wanted to see again, or had seen and thought the kids would like, too. I'm saving The Brady Bunch Movie for a night I can't sleep. Not appropriate for kids but very, very funny to people over the age of 40.

I DVRed (that's a real word) Back to the Future believing my children would benefit from such an iconic cultural experience. Particularly when I offered that movie as an option and my 13 year old asked what it was about. Seriously. We all sat down to enjoy a classic movie. It is a very different experience when seeing it through the Mommy Filter. I had no idea it had so much swearing in it. I didn't remember it that way but I heard every single swear word and gasped out loud which punctuated the swearing to my children, I'm certain. So I deleted it from DVR.

This story does have a happy ending, however. I have seen two movies that have passed through the Mommy Filter with minimal concern. "August Rush" is an amazing movie that is very well done. I did have some concerns about a few scenes but overall it passes.

Tonight we saw "Bedtime Stories." Passed the filter with flying colors. I may be slightly biased because there is a scene where the children run into their mother's arms. My three year old followed suit and jumped into my arms and announced that I'm that mom. Although slightly related but mostly I am recording this so I don't forget it, when I was tucking him into his bed I said something about his bed being snuggly and warm. He replied, "Mom, you make my bed snuggly and warm." Could I ask for anything more than I already have? I think not.