So we have officially gone five months without a TV in our home. Well, the TV is still there but its not hooked up to anything except our trusty VCR.
Now, rewind five months….
As my husband and I discussed the pros and cons of having television, we realized this would mean no more American Idol. No more Top Chef or HGTV or Outdoor Channel. No more…cartoons. GASP! What would we do without a TV? Well, we decided, we’d save a lot of money each month. We did the math, in four years it would be several thousand dollars. I can’t think of a single hour that I’ve spent watching TV that changed my life. I can’t get a single one of those hours back. And if I reached the end of my life and was given the opportunity to have all that time back, I would take it in a heartbeat.
I remember sitting there watching one of my favorite shows and thinking, what am I doing? If there had been a mirror right there, know what I would have seen? Me, sitting on the couch without moving, staring at the box across from me. Wow. Impressive.
We saw this as our chance. Not only to unplug, but to spend more time as a family. More time getting real stuff done and living life instead of watching others do it.
Our routine has been to let the kids watch about ½ an hour a day, while missing some days all together. No TV, no problem. We’ve got plenty of good videos for the kids and the library provides extra variety. Plus, there’s just way too many fun things to fill up a kid’s day than cartoons. Now when the kids go down to bed at eight, instead of one of us plopping on the couch and choosing something off the DVR, my husband and I turn to each other and one of us always asks, “What do you want to do tonight?”
And we hang out.
We talk. Sometimes we both have projects to keep us busy. Sometimes we watch a movie. My new favorite thing we do is read aloud to each other. I love falling asleep to the sound of my husband reading to me from one of his books, or better yet, his Bible. And the other night, I read a couple pages from Thunder Dog and my husband laid there, listening to the real life account of escapees in a stairwell in the World Trade Center.
Of course we could have been watching Lady Gaga do something life-changing on American Idol…tempting, but I think we’ll stick with what we’ve got!
Awesome! Good for you! You and your kids are better off for it I know. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you! It's been a great experience.
Good for you guys! We have been TVless for 5 years now and it's been a huge blessing. More LIFE, less staring at the box that feeds us lies!
Truly. It's amazing how many things there are to do. Our family is having more fun than ever.