Farewell to Guiding Light (GL)

I received an interesting email earlier in the week. It was from cbs.com and it talked about how the light was fading this week. I don't always read these emails but this one caught my eye and I opened it to find out that my absolute favorite soap opera Guiding Light will air its final episode on Friday, September 18. I admit I used to be addicted to this soap opera. I think I got hooked on it when I was 11 years old. I would get off the bus at 3:15 and have to kill time until my mother got home from work so TV was my relaxation station! I quickly learned the characters names, the plots, the storylines, who was related to who, the whole nine yards. Maybe that sounds like a young age to get addicted to a soap, but hey, it can happen. Then when I graduated from high school and went to college and then started working a full time job, some days I had to MISS it. That was just devastating to me! But luckily I had the internet to read the daily updates and my handy dandy old VCR to tape it so I could watch it at night.

Let me tell ya'll ~ that was the best thing ever. An hour at the end of the day to sit down and watch my soap and catch up on the daily drama and gossip of the fake world of Guiding Light. My ex husband hated the fact I watched that every single day, but that was something he had no say so in. My soap was my friend and I was going to watch it no matter if I had to stay up til midnight to do so! With all that stated, let me say that whole scenario took place in the olden days. Wow, olden days makes me sound so OLD. I am not old yet, but I start to feel my age more and more as time goes on and I watch my kids grow!

So fast forward to current life scenario... I have not actually sat down and watched an entire full episode of Guiding Light in probably 3 years. Maybe it's the fact I had more than one child and couldn't just trust both of them to be good for an hour. Or maybe it's the fact I had less time in my day because I was working longer hours and getting home later. Or maybe it was the fact I weaned myself from that addiction and realized my whole life would not crumble if I didn't watch my soap for a day. Eventually over time, I found myself watching the show less and less. And thank heavens for the internet because I could still catch the daily grind on the daily update. But then again, that was a normal habit even when I was religiously watching my GL on a daily basis. I would read the daily update the morning after just to make sure I didn't miss anything while watching it! Sounds silly, but yes, that would be me that did that.

Even though I haven't kept completely up to date on the latest drama and gossip of GL these past few years, it highly saddens me to see the light fade off the air. Often times women get so wrapped up in their soaps, but that is our way of escaping reality for a bit. It's like following someone else's life, even if the show is fiction and the characters are paid to act on the show. We all have certain shows that we like to watch or can become addicted to if we are not careful. Some people are television junkies, or movie addicts. No matter what type of show it is, we all have our favorite show we can watch and escape from our busy lives for a few moments to see what happens next. And maybe it's not even a TV show we watch. I have a couple blogs I love to follow for my daily entertainment. So whether you have a favorite tv show you watch all the time, a movie you watch over and over, or a blog your read periodically, imagine if that was deleted out of your life. It would be sad, but you would have to get over it!

And that is what I am working on ~ getting over the fact my soap is being murdered pulled off the television airwaves permanently. After 72 years of being on the radio and television, hundreds of actors that filled various character slots over the years, countless hours of hard work, and friendships that will remain a lifetime, Guiding Light has seen its final days. I am growing to accept this news, and it helps that I haven't watched it on a daily basis for the past couple of years. Even though this is just a tv show or a soap to some people, there are others who will take this news to heart and be extremely hurt or upset over the ending of this show. Some women get their daily fix on watching this show everyday. I have even known some men that were addicted to this show! Yes it is just a show, but remember everyone has their passion and to someone out there, GL is their passion.

God never closes one door without opening another. Even though the doors are being closed on GL, I have faith that life will go on for all actors, everyone involved with producing the show, and all of the GL fans out there. Life will go on and changes occur because that is what happens. GL fans will have to find another soap to be addicted to, or some will kick TV to the curb for good from some of the fans' comments I have read. Life can't always be a bowl of cherries all the time, we have to encounter things we don't like. I will end this by saying I will be sad to see GL go, but when it's time, it's time. And obviously it was time for GL to come to a conclusion. Good luck to all the actors and all involved with Guiding Light. Thank you for the many memories, the happy moments, the moments that made me cry, the shocking moments, the scary moments, and so on. I pray that each of these characters finds a new and inspiring place in life, and that they fly to places they have never been. Guiding Light will be missed by all; but when it's time to let go, we must let go and move on. Thanks again for the memories; and may the light shine forever...