Thursday, June 10, 2010

The First Day on My Summer Vacation. I Got Up.

School's out.

Know how I could tell? The TV was on when I came down the stairs this morning.

I've made a lot of adjustments to my TV viewing habits in the past couple months. I used to have it on all the time. If I was home, it was on. It was my company. I didn't always veg in front of it (though it was nice to know that was an option), but it was on. I like to knit or crochet while I watch TV and that has been my excuse when I DO sit down to watch. "Hey! I'm being productive!" Lately I've only allowed myself to indulge in my hobby while MINDfully watching TV. That makes it sound almost Zen - which it is not. My definition of mindful TV watching is that I actually sit down to watch a show, not that I sit down to watch TV. It certainly doesn't mean that I only watch things that feed my mind. Hardly. It just means that I watch things by choice. Which reminds me: How can Glee be so predictable and still manage to make me cry? I hate myself when that happens. Stupid Glee.

We would love to be one of those families that doesn't even own a TV. And by we I mean Tom and I. And by Tom and I I mean the Tom and I that we picture ourselves being, not the Tom and I that we actually are. When we got married we didn't watch all of the same shows. On evenings where there was a conflict, either one of us had to 'give' or we ended up in separate rooms. Separate rooms are not good places for newlyweds to be. Compromises were negotiated. People were more important than TV shows. We're not newlyweds anymore, but we DO only have one TV. We watch together or we don't watch. We don't have a TV in our bedroom and we have been pretty adamant about not allowing the girls to have TVs in their bedrooms, either. Just the one. DVR and Netflix streaming have made it a lot easier for me to keep my casually made resolution to watch mindfully. I don't think I've seen a commercial in months. Stupid commercials.

But the girls? They made no such resolution. They are not as evolved as I am. Please read that with the appropriate level of sarcasm. So. So I think the next three months may be a steady stream of DeGrassi and Saved by the Bell and What I Like About You sprinkled liberally with Spongebob and The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack and Penguins of Madagascar. I don't think I will survive. It's not that these shows are necessarily BAD (Oh my dear sweet loving God, they are SO bad) - different strokes and all that - it's just that they are rerun incessantly. Over and over and over. I think there may have only been five episodes MADE of some of these shows, because it seems like they're always watching the same one. It doesn't seem to bother them. I don't get it. Ok, maybe I get it a little bit. Once when I was on bed rest I watched reruns of Soap daily for hours on end. But that was Soap, not Saved by the Bell and I was on bed rest, not summer vacation. Stupid reruns.

When it's sunny, I can go on the deck and read. There is no where in the house for me to read comfortably EXCEPT the room where the TV is, and when it's on, well... That leaves the computer. I can play on the computer. I sat down to my new obsession - Wordtwist - and the first word I found was 'sagging'. Nice. So I'm hearing America's Funniest Home Videos from the TV behind me and being judged about the natural aging process by the computer in front of me. Stupid computer.

It looks like today will maybe sunny. That cuts my rant short. Maybe I'll get to spend the day reading a good book in the sunshine. Maybe I can even get the kids to bring me lemonade. Hey! Maybe I can even get them to do some chores! (During commercials, of course.) Maybe it's gonna be a good day after all.

Happy summer!

15 comments:

Mama-Face said...

haha. Oh Tammy, if only you were my next door neighbor.

I used to leave the T.V. on all day and never really watch it...it was just kept me company. Now I just crave the peace and quiet. But there are a few shows that I DVR-and sometimes watching them is the most relaxing thing I can do. Glee-I don't get why I love that show so much-Perhaps it is because most of the music is from my era-some even before. Journey... :)

Okay...now I know why my lil boy is always talking about a Penguin... is that really a show? I never pay enough attention to what he's watching... I just can't.

Liz Mays said...

I used to have the tv on as background noise all the time, but within the last 6 months or so, if I'm not watching something specific, it's off. I LOVE the peace and quiet now.

Carma Sez said...

congrats!! I love it when you say the "Tom and I that we picture ourselves being." MB and I also have similar alter-egos. We like to delude ourselves into thinking we are actually that way now.

Macey said...

Oh, I have the most difficult time trying to read when the tv's on.
We aren't putting tv's in the kids room either.
And, holy crap, Saved by the Bell is still on...re-runs are awesome. NOT! LOL

Unknown said...

You must be supper mommy! Getting the kids to do chores!

Rosa said...

This SO hit home w/ me. With 4 kids in the house now, if I hear one more rerun of some of these new, mindless, churned out Disney and Nick shows, I may scream out loud. To be honest, I already have. (Have you SEEN the painfully horrible Sonny w/ a Chance? Or Victorious. Or the godawful Big Time Rush?!?!) Sorry to say, the kids are so buried in their reruns that they don't even notice, until I turn off the tv, mid-drivel, and make them go outside and DO something!

Tracie said...

My kids will turn on every tv in the house. There are 5 of them and 2 kids. Why???

Joanna Jenkins said...

I'm pretty good at tuning the tv out-- like when hubby is watching sports-- I can blog and not miss a beat.

But if I could get him to bring me a lemonade during the commercial breaks it would be even better.

Loved this post Tammy!
jj

Anonymous said...

Summer with teenagers...so different than what I'm experiencing over here!! Yeah for the sun!

Unknown said...

I can read with the TV on, no biggy, and I'm not one to leave it as background noise. We are a full TV insanity house, 4 TV's, i know, I suck as a mother, there goes that award!
My kids watch total crap too!!! ugh.

Claudya Martinez said...

When I was pregnant and having severe panic attacks I would look forward to watching Degrassi all day long. For some reason, I found it soothing.

Badass Geek said...

I could do without television. Sure, there are a few shows I enjoy here or there, but mostly it just keeps me from reading.

JennyMac said...

My Hub will have the downstairs and upstairs tvs on at the same time sometimes. So odd. I love it OFF when there is not something particular I want to watch. Happy Summer to you too Tammy!

Pam said...

Ah the dreaded Teen Television. I have to agree with you about the incessant reruns. It's awful. Geoff will actually leave the room when the girls are watching their shows. But like you, there is no comfortable place for me to read except in the room with the TV. Ah... the joys of summer!

Gibby said...

We have the TV on a lot here, too. I have tried to be better about it, I've been turning on music instead. So instead of my daughter quoting Spongebob lines, she's been singing "Ro-ro-ro-ma-ma!!" from Lady Gaga pretty much on repeat.

(Oh, and confession time: I sort of like What I Like About You...)