Guilty Pleasures

I have a guilty pleasure, I will admit it. I love to follow the "gossip column", you know, the one that keeps tabs on celebrities and such. I used to watch the entertainment TV shows, but now I just have a website online that I follow. About once a day I log on and see what the "stars" are up to.
John and I have had a lot of discussion about why I do that. I know that the lifestyle of these people is not what I want to emulate in any way. It's not even like I have a great respect for them and for what they do. (I mean, really, they get paid millions because they are good looking? SHALLOW!) And there is no way that I want to be like them, with their self-centeredness and crazy lifestyle.
So why do I do it?
It came to me one day last week...because it is something completely outside of myself and my life. I do not have to worry about anyone, I do not have to be responsible for anyone. It is literally something that takes me out of my situation for small period of time. And that is something I have desperately needed for the past year.
If you want to see a woman under continuous, unmeasurable amount of stress, look at a mom of a special needs kid. There's always something to worry about, something lurking around the next corner. See, our kids don't "get better", they just learn to cope with their needs. And the more moms like this I talk to, the more I think it's harder on the moms than the kids.
Anyway, I am now off to my second "guilty pleasure", The Housewives of New York City. (Those women are so crazy and shallow and self-centered, it's hilarious!)