One Life to Live

It's the end of era today.  One Life to Live, or "OLTL" as it's known, is off the air as of this afternoon.  For anyone who's avoided a television for the past forty years, OLTL is a soap opera.  It's the only one I've ever watched, although I admit I haven't seen an episode in several years.

There was a time though I wouldn't dream of missing an episode.  I got hooked on the show when I was a kid one summer.  It was a treat to catch up on a sick or snow day after that.  Otherwise, I'd make my mom leave it on after her show, General Hospital, so she could give me an update every afternoon.  Staying home that first year after having Austin, I became a OLTL junkie.  Starting college and then working full-time, the VCR became my friend, as I'd tape the show every day.  Fast forward to the age of the satellite and the DVR, I continued to never miss a show in between the soap opera channel and recording it live.

Saturdays became soap day.  But being a busy mom, my remote allowed me to fast forward to the characters and stories I followed.  Life in Llanview was much like a fairy tale.  Sure bad things happened, but in the end, somehow, everything seemed to work out.  Lovers reunited.  Very few worked but money seemed to never be an issue.   People returned from the dead.  It was a fantasy world that I enjoyed visiting, for awhile.

After losing Austin, soap operas just made me mad.  My happily ever had ended.  I knew he could never come back and it angered me to see silly, unrealistic stories on tv.  Now, I'm at a place where I can appreciate it for what it was.  Not reality.  Just a story.

What I can take away from it now is the title.  It has more meat and meaning than any episode.  You truly do have only "one life to live".  Unlike the show's characters, some of which managed to live multiple lives, reincarnate, and simultaneously live in two worlds, for us, this is it.  We don't know the number of days but even if you live into your 90s it is a short span.  It's so important to live each day to the fullest, to make the most of every moment. 

In this one life I have, my hope is to continue my days, how many ever there are, with a joyful faith-filled outlook.  I hope to continue to treasure each day for the gift it is.  I strive to learn, grown and change to be the best me I can be.  And, I'm impressed with the direction ABC is going.  They've filled that hour with a show that promises real-life stories filled with hope, empowerment and transformation.  *The Revolution is ABC Daytime’s new one-hour daily talk show that will revolutionize the lives of viewers from the inside out.  I might just check it out!