Sand Pail List: Sunday Night Television

Sundays are typically awful.

Alright, that's being a little dramatic, we'll admit.

We get to sleep late, enjoy a real breakfast, read the paper and watch a rerun of yesterday's Soup - all without changing into anything more formal than a pair of worn-in jeans and a grayed and frayed Gonzaga or Providence t-shirt. It's not that bad of a deal.

Still, despite the relaxing, do-nothing nature of the Day of Rest, Sundays weigh quite heavily on us.

Each Sunday minute is inching closer and more quickly toward Monday. And each lazy Sunday we spend together doing a lot of nothing is one less that we have completely to ourselves. Once we have kids, they'll be no more relaxing Sundays. No more do-nothing Sundays. No more late mornings. And there is absolutely no way that the Soup will win out over Blue's Clues or Dora or whatever show kids will be watching in a few years.

But we'll also have to say goodbye to our normal Sunday evening routine: three hours of Emmy-winning television. Mad Men, Dexter, Entourage, the Tudors, Flight of the Conchords, True Blood and a half dozen other profanity-laced and "Rated M" dramas make regular Sunday evening visits to the Raia home.

But let's be realistic, Johnny Drama's outbursts and Sookie Stackhouse's promiscuity can't be the ambient noise that helps settle our future kids to sleep. Nor will we be able to dedicate three hours to thoughtless lethargy that leaves us sprawled out on the couch watching Don Draper be Don Draper.

So we're getting these shows in while we can.

Don't stress, though. We won't become completely out of touch - TV on DVD, DirecTV DVR and a new TV in the bedroom will become one of the most important facets of our future lives.