Reality television asks nothing of you. You can avoid thought, avoid conflicts in your own life if you focus on the ladies’ contrived conflicts. You know it is fiction. You know these women would not have daily lunches in groups of seven or eight, they wouldn’t be throwing their dogs lavish birthday parties, if they weren’t surrounded by cameras. Or would they?

You have plans to socialize on both Thursday and Sunday this week. And you think of cancelling one of those plans. You’d be too exhausted doing both.

On Mondays your co-workers ask how you spent your weekend. If you don’t particularly feel like talking, you’ll say, “I relaxed,” and leave it at that. If you’re in a more gregarious mood, you’ll recount the event you saw on Friday’s episode. This week it was a charity hoedown.

Shannon McLeod
05 02 16