3 years ago we decided that we wanted to be a TV free household.....and 3 years on I believe it was one of the best decisions we ever made, mainly because we have done so many wonderful things to enrich our lives during the time previously spent in front of a screen.
Since Dave is a huge soccer fan, we are currently borrowing a T.V during the World Cup. At first I was excited to be able to have some nights in watching T.V, but the novelty wore off very quickly, when I realised just how immune I must have got to our calm and peaceful home.
The adverts were the thing that got me thinking first. I realised that for the past 3 years I have never known what shops have been having sales or what some of the minor news headlines have been. Up until this point I'd never noticed I was missing out on this information because it was irrelevant to my life, and to be honest I would rather not have that knowledge cluttering my brain. It then occurred to me that being T.V free may just have had something to do with the ideas and clear thinking that I have experienced lately.
The next day, I put the T.V on for the second time, this time to watch an old favourite 'Home and Away' while I was making dinner. Now, usually little Jacinda loves to do her own 'cooking' while Mummy does, she gets out all the pots and pans and has a great time! but today I watched her beautifully creative play come to an abrupt halt while she stared, motionless at the screen. It felt eerie, like she was in a trance, I thought she would snap out of it in a couple of minutes but when she hadn't moved after 15mins I missed my playful little girl too much, so off went the T.V and back she went to her 'cooking'.
When we mention that we don't have a T.V the most common response is "So, what do you do in the evenings?" the answer is right in front of you. It's the writing that you are reading, the sewing and knitting projects that are mentioned on this blog. It is also the knowledge I have gained from reading books and listening to podcasts, the wonderful evenings out with friends going to the Pub quiz night or out for dinner, the uninterrupted thinking I have done while out for an evening stroll or soaking in a hot bath and the great conversations I have with my Husband over an evening cup of tea.
The T.V will stay for now and we will surely enjoy watching World Cup Soccer matches, but we will be keeping it switched off otherwise and going back to our peaceful and creative home and being thankful that we are now more aware of just how how precious that is..........
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