Why I Got Rid of My T.V.

"Mom, where's the T.V?" "Um, I'm not sure, is it gone?" "Yes! It's not there." "Oh, well, I guess we took it away." "WHY?, where did it go?" "We gave it away." "Now what are we going to do?" "We are just going to read, and color and spend time together and when we are bored, stare at the sky." "What about movies?" "We can still watch those on the DVD player." "Oh, okay."

There are several friends I have who never spent time watching television and I always admired them for that. I found that I enjoyed the time I spent with them in their spaces. Time just felt different, and it felt better. I wanted to have my time in my own space feel like that too. I also did not want my kids to create a strong television habit. So my husband Z, and I got rid of it because 1) that was the only way we could stop watching it, 2) we just had to try it for once in our lives to see how it felt to live without it and 3) we had a small window of opportunity before the kids got any older, before they would really know what hit 'em. Now we have more time to do other things, like go outside, bake cookies, listen to music, to think, read, and chat. Not to mention rent good movies. For my part, it is so much better than mindless hours of reality T.V. (I mean no offense, but are the Kardashian's lives really that interesting?) Now if I want to see an important event like a presidential debate or SNL skit, :) or special program, I can mostly find it online. The two little ones get to watch an assortment of children's programs on DVD. And if the man in the house needs to watch a game, he can get on over to the local sports bar or pub and hang with the guys. Everyone's happy!