Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Little Known Fact About Me and T.V.

We haven't turned on our T.V. in at least six months...hmm...maybe I should make that almost a year. The little black box sits in our living room, lonely and forsaken. Every once in a great while, we'll look over at it and comment that we almost forgot it was there.

In many ways, our T.V. watching habits (or lack thereof) happened unconsciously. As newlyweds, we were both attending loads of classes and working part time so it never quite fit into our crammed schedules. As the months and years passed, we, quite frankly, didn't understand its appeal. It was a screen of dancing images that required neither intellect nor interactivity. Instead, it encouraged a certain apathy and inertia that we were not particularly fond of. Then, our little girl entered our lives and created a contented sort of chaos - and we simply forgot about T.V. No specific rhyme or reason to our choice; we just found that the busyness of our lives left no room for it. In between work, writing, blogging, cleaning, cooking, laundry, walking, playing, reading, singing, sleeping, volunteering, talking, and making to-do lists...there is little time left for lethargy.

So, that's my little secret. I don't watch T.V. It's a bit counterculture (and, for some reason, I avoid the topic because people tend to think that you must be somehow strange or snobby if you are not in tune with the "telly"), but it's just a simple fact of our lives. Don't judge me because I don't watch American Idol and Dancing with the Stars. Oh, and please don't assume that I don't know the big shocker from the latest episode. I do. I hear about it constantly on the radio or by reading stories and blogs of news reporters online.

So, strike up a conversation. I may not watch T.V., but, in our society, you don't really even have to watch it to get the inside scoop. (Maybe that's why we don't turn it on.)

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

At the end of the day, late at night, when all three kids are tucked in bed am I am on the verge of tears from the overwhelming amount of stress I'm feeling, I turn on that lovely TV and retreat into a little corner of my mind where I curl up and rock myself back and forth chanting, this too shall pass. Seriously, there are days (especially rainy days) when no amount of crafting or directing or reading or playing will work with them. That's when I pop a big bowl of popcorn and pop in a movie and relish the 90 minutes of silence. In all honesty, I could probably live without TV. My husband on the other hand, would completely fall apart without his Fall football!