In early December we were in the middle of switching from one cable company to another and the strangest thing happened ... we never actually switched. We turned off our service and couldn't decide on a new provider. So we're now rapidly approaching two months without any tv. No rabbit ears. No nothin'.
My hilarious sister-in-law called a few days into it and said, "So ... I heard you guys are playing pioneer. How's that going?" Funny ... yet it feels like a strangely appropriate assessment.
It was hard at first. I felt lonely and isolated. Even though we still had the internet, I felt disconnected from the world somehow.
The first couple of evenings were interesting. We seriously sat around staring at each other. Ruby just kept asking when Family Home Evening was going to start, since apparently that's the only time we'd all just sit around staring at each other.
I'd have to say the family togetherness has been the biggest benefactor of "playing pioneer." We engage so much more than we used to. Which is great, don't get me wrong, but sometimes I'd kill to just flop on my bed, turn on the tv, and zone out. And now that American Idol has started up again, what's a recovering tv addict to do? (Don't even talk to me about trying to watch it online -- they've got that thing under serious lock and key.)
I mean, how much family time does one family need? We still have very productive, informative, spiritual FHEs. Isn't that enough? For instance, last week at FHE we were talking about how Jesus and Heavenly Father love us and Ruby looked over at the picture we have of Jesus and said, "Yeah, I wuuuuuv Santa."
Santa? Oh, man ... we've ruined our kids.
Or maybe the tv did. Yeah ... let's say it was the tv.
Good riddance.
11 years ago
