30 Days of Thanks – Day #2

Today I am expressing my thanks for the DVR. It’s something I take for granted these days. Every few days I fire open her up and see what entertaining little tidbits are waiting for my enjoyment. I never miss a show. I don’t even have to keep track of when shows come off of hiatus or new seasons premiere. Instant replay of live television shows, jumping ahead through commercials—the positive features are endless.

Now, I’ve had a DVR for a matter of years. So long, in fact, that I often forget what a pain it was to record shows back in the day of VCRs.

When I was a kid, a very young kid mind you, my dad taught me how to use the VCR. I don’t remember how old I was, but it was before I could read. He explained what the symbols meant in a no nonsense common sense kind of way. And he told me to NEVER push the circle with the little dot inside.

After that I felt like I could rule the world! I could watch any movie I wanted any time I wanted.

When I got older I learned how to record. What a super awesome thing that was! Waiting anxiously for the show to start so I could record it without missing a minute. Pausing during commercials but not being able to leave the room lest the show start up again (hey, space was a valuable asset!). That terrible moment when in the middle of recording and the tape runs out. The mad scramble to find another one that was either new or had something on it I didn’t care about in the sea of unlabeled VHS tapes.

Now that I think about it, that doesn’t sound very fun at all.

When I was younger I relied on one of my parents to record cartoons while I was at school. My Little Pony, She-Ra, Heathcliff, etc. Nothing, and I mean nothing, ruined my day and filled me with rage like having the beginning or the end of my show cut off.

When I was a little older, I got my own VCR. I could set it to record in advance, which was awesome because I could watch All My Children after school. It still sucked because, you know, the whole VHS tape thing still applied.

I’m happy to say those days are long behind me. I couldn’t imagine how my childhood years would have been different if DVRs were around, but I can guarantee you it would have been way awesomer.