Having DVR Screwed Me Up!

Do you have DVR?  If so then you will probably relate to what I can only describe as a permanent life tweak. Don't get me wrong, I love having DVR. In fact, we have DVR hooked up to two televisions on two different floors of our house. Gone are the days of missing interesting programming because we simply set the timers and walk away. Oh the freedom! One of the DVR boxes can even record two different programs at once! That means the kids can record their garbage iCarly and the Hubster can record Deadliest Catch. Meanwhile, I am recording Top Chef and Parenthood upstairs. In our house everybody wins.

(The truth is that I don't have time to even watch a fraction of what gets recorded, but it's comforting to know that I could if I wanted to.)

DVR has also made it incredibly joyful to skip commercials, rewind when the kidlets talk over important dialogue, and pause for potty breaks. (Did I just say potty break on my blog?) I have even been guilty of pausing and moving forward frame by frame so we can laugh at the unfortunate gymnast who fell off the parallel bars and landed face down while kicking himself in the back of the head. Don't judge! If he didn't want me to laugh at him kicking himself in slow-mo then he shouldn't have submitted the tape to AFV in the first place. The guy was no Chuck Norris, or Mary Lou Retton, but he was hilarious for at least five minutes.

I do enjoy the convenience that having DVR has brought into my family's entertainment experience. The problem is that now I find myself wanting to rewind, pause and skip over things that don't have that feature available. I can't tell you how many times I have been spacing out in traffic listening to the radio in my SUV  when I hear something and immediately wonder, "Wait a minute.. what did he just say?" I actually catch myself reaching for the nonexistent rewind button on my radio console before I realize (for the 10th time that week) that I do not have the capability to rewind the radio!

Frustrating!

But it's more than just zoning out and missing radio commentary. What about all of the real life situations that would benefit from DVR capabilities? Here are just a few situations that I think would improve drastically with a little DVR help.

• Telephone is ringing and you are sitting in the recliner, with a laptop and several other electronics perched around you. (hypothetically, of course) You know you only get four rings before it goes to voicemail and you can't get to it soon enough! DVR functions that would work here?  Pause! 
• Salesman, girl scout, and annoying neighbor kid that can't read ignore the NO SOLICITING sign in bold letters attached to the front door and interrupt what is otherwise a nice evening. Function = Skip!
• Enjoying a wonderful summer family bbq on the deck with lots of side splitting laughter and the squeals of happy cousins playing in the yard.  Function = Record and protect! (This one would have endless playback enjoyment)
• Daughter says something incredibly funny, such as, "I have two favorite candies.. only I don't know what the second one is." Function= Record and replay later for the hubby who loves these "isms" that appear from time to time. 
• Entire family gets food poisoning while on vacation in Hawaii.  Function = DELETE! 
• Suffering through the work week just to get to the too short weekend..  Function= Fast forward! 

I joke about the things above, but the truth is that I really do catch myself trying to rewind the radio and tonight at the movies with my girls, I wanted to rewind the movie when I happened to look away from the screen at the wrong time and missed something important. Drat!

I know, I know! I can't help it that I'm spoiled and completely ruined now because of my life with DVR... how the heck did we ever function without it?