Monday, September 19, 2011
.....I am no longer hooked.
My addiction to TV goes back to before I can remember. I have always had certain shows I had to watch religiously. When they get cancelled I always feel like a part of me was cancelled along with it.Our DVR was so overworked, we went through two different boxes in 2 years. My husband couldn't even watch TV half of the time because something was always recording while I was watching the things that we didn't have storage for. It really wasn't pretty.
For years now my husband has been trying to get me to cancel our satellite/cable service. And for years now I have been telling him to slowly back away from the TV or I would cut him.
A few months ago, he finally sat me down and made me pay bills with him. I was shocked at how much of our money was going out instead of staying in.
To my dismay, I found out most of the bank account draining was my fault. I have a problem with opening credit cards at every store I ever walk in to because of the 10% discount off your first purchase. Yes, I know I'm that sucker they are always looking for. I always swear I'll cut them up as soon as we get that first bill, but that is as likely as Michael Vic representing the ASPCA.
We had to save some money somewhere. Of all of our unnecessary expenses, (e.i. Internet/cable/Captain Morgan) cable was the one, I felt, as much as it pained me, I could live without. Maybe.
So the cable company was called, and the service was cancelled. It was arguably one of the scariest things I had ever done. What would I do with the kids when I took a shower? Would I have to play with them more than once a day? How would my 4 month old ever learn about Dora, or Handy Manny? She will be the laughing stock of play group!! Most importantly though, I wasn't sure if I could survive that first 24 hours without Judge Judy. Seeing her bitter, sarcastic self the hour before the dinner crazies started was the only thing that kept us all alive some days.
The first couple of days were weird. No TV to turn on first thing in the morning. No news in the background while we ate breakfast. And the quiet was a bit unnerving. When you have 3 kids, quiet means only bad things.
The kids missed it a bit. They complained when I told them we were going to find other things to do besides TV. It was a bit more than complaining really. It was more of a grieving process. First they were in denial. "But mommy, the TV is right there. That means our shows are there too. WHY ARE YOU LYING TO US!!" Then guilt "Why did you take it away? Is it because I said 'shit' yesterday?" Bargaining : "I promise we will not bite ANYONE for at least a week if we can have our shows back." Reflection "Henry, remember when Dora used to solve all of life's problems by simply speaking very loudly in Spanish?"
After the dramatics, they began to just find other things to do. It was amazing. They would just go off and play with their toys, read a book, or beat on each other. I also found that it was easier for me to get things done. I was cleaning the house more often, preparing meals ahead of time, and just generally finding things to do.
Many of my friends have been without cable for a while. I always rolled my eyes whenever someone told me this. I, of course, judged them. "Silly hippies", I would think. "You think you're happy, but you really just want to claw each other's faces off after staring at them all night every night."
Now, I get it. My husband and I have conversations longer than the length of a commercial break! We play games with the kids before bed! Death threats are no longer issued because of lost remotes!
We aren't completely without television entertainment. We still have Netflix through our Wii and Hulu on the computer. But the kids only watch 30-45 minutes of TV a day MAX. My husband and I have gotten to enjoy watching a few TV series' in full without commercials or waiting a week between episodes. But many days and nights, the TV doesn't even get looked at.
So to all of you who say "Well, I'm glad it worked for you, but I know myself and my family and it would never work for us." I am calling you out. The cable and satellite companies will allow you to suspend your service for 6 months. You can call them any time and have it restored immediately. So you really have no excuse. At least try it for a week or two. You may be surprised at how much you were missing. No, you WILL be surprised. I promise.
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