My Renewed Love of "The Waltons"

I'm of the age that remembers watching The Waltons when it originally aired on CBS in the 1970s. I've always had fond memories of the show, but I hadn't watched it in years. With my recent injuries, I've had a chance to watch the show again on the Hallmark channel. This may come as a surprise to those of you who think of me as brassy and too-cool-for-school, but The Waltons is exactly the type of show that I need right now.

This tale of a family living in the Virginia mountains during the Great Depression was simple enough for me to understand as a 10-year-old, but it means even more to me now as a 45-year-old wife and mother. The stories of long-lasting marital love and loyalty are a relief to me at a time when every other show on TV seems to feature infidelity. I watched an episode last week where Grandpa Walton had a heart attack, and  watching Grandma Walton talk about how she couldn't bear to lose the man that she had slept next to for 51 years nearly had me in tears. 

The Waltons is not a show with grand speeches or wild plot twists, but it isn't as corny as some make it out to be. It is a simple show about hardworking people trying to live by their principles, and it is the best sort of escapism for me right now.