Monday, July 28, 2008

30 Days

When we moved from California (say it like Arnold), my husband thought it would be a good idea to give up television in our new home. It would be our own little social experiment, he said. I thought it was a great idea, this man is perfect for me I thought. We were moving to a new city, in a new state, and we wanted to explore and take advantage of the summer season. Not having a television would force us to get out of the house. The little flower doesn't watch television and we'd like to keep it that way for as long as possible. Not having to pay for cable was another bonus. In short, we wanted to simplify, and we thought this was the perfect catalyst.

We lasted thirty days. We went out and bought a television Saturday night. And a DVD player. And then rented two movies. Now, if you were to ask my husband he would say I "nagged him for days" until he finally gave in to my wishes because he loves me and wants to make me happy. But don't be fooled, he wanted that television as much as I did. He missed "Jon and Kate plus 8" as much as I did.

Now we're having trouble deciding where we should put the television. For now it is in our bedroom, but neither of us likes the idea of having a television in the bedroom. It's just our thing, we've always said we didn't want that, we should read or talk instead. The problem is we also don't want it in our main living area. We want to encourage conversation, and game playing, and thinking. Our basement isn't finished yet, so that's not an option.

So here we are with a television that we couldn't live without, for which we can't seem to find the perfect spot. So much for our simple life. I have to go call the cable company now...

4 comments:

Life in the Crazy Lane said...

Yeah, I always wanted to not have my kids watch tv for the first year. Then, I realized that tv in the background makes me feel like there are other adults in the house with me during the day. And there you have it.

Mom2Da'Gorgeouses said...

WOW!!! The idealistic part of me thinks that's a totally doable goal, the realistic part of me knows better. DrillSgt. so would not even suggest that, the one day he missed turning on the news in the morning was on 9-11---I he'll ever miss a day of TV in the morning (or night for that matter)!

Kudos to you all for lasting 30 days. BTW, I made him sign a contract that a tv would never enter our bedroom (lol!), to this day it hasn't.

Hugs & Blessings!

Holly said...

Karen- I know the feeling...I never thought I would miss Matt Lauer's voice in the background of my morning routine so much!

and Mamachanga- the news is what I missed THE most- I totally relate to DrillSgt.!

Anonymous said...

When we moved here from the UK we went and bought the biggest tv we could. Then we returned it the next week realizing how huge it was and that it took over our living room. We next bought a small tv which we put in a vintage record cabinet with doors that closed. It was such a good compromise. Like you we didn't want it to take over the living room. Our next house had a curtain to hide the tv behind. Now we've given up and our large tv sits proudly along with her buddy tivo. We only watch in the evenings once the children are in bed but it is probably the most relaxing time of the day for us.