So we lived without TV for approximately 5 months in my home.  I couldn’t stand the look of the TV in the corner of the family room.  It was big and old, and while it still worked it seemed to just scream Energy Sucker to me from its home anchoring the corner of the room down into the depths of the shag carpet.  So I gave it away to Habitat for Humanity (they waived the $5 fee that you have to pay to give away your TV because I volunteer there- LOL.)

After the initial shock of their mother actually giving away the TV, my kids also realized that meant no Xbox, no Kinect, and movies watched only on a tiny portable DVD screen.  Of course they lobbied for a new TV, but their efforts died down after a couple weeks of realizing it wasn’t gonna happen.  Now I know that I am often a bit radical.  Sometimes I even recognize that I go a bit too far with my give-aways, such as giving away my entire king bedroom set, mattress included because I couldn’t stand the vibes it was giving off.  This time though I felt the giveaway was extremely warranted.  It was part of my plan to get my children to appreciate and take care of the things they already have.  And, truly, even if they didn’t appreciate them I figured they could at least learn to take care of them!

For the first 2 months, every time my almost 6 year old saw anyone he would say “We don’t have a TV”, and then we would go through the story of “why” the TV went away.  I had offers from people who also had TV’s sucking energy out of their spaces.  I gracefully and with gratitude declined their offers to take their energy suckers off their hands.  We watched the occasional movie together huddled around the portable DVD player, and my home seemed to calm and was quite peaceful much of the time.  Until I talked to a friend who refurbishes TV’s, and he had a 37” Sanyo LCD for $125.  I was thrilled.  Seriously, I was kind of missing my late night Peggle playing and the occasional House Hunters International marathon that I like to play in the background while painting- I pretend I am moving to a foreign country.

So, I bought the TV and brought it home while the kids were out.  They were sooooo excited to see it when they arrived home.  I felt good actually to have been able to provide it for them.  And this one seemed light and airy compared to my old beast of a TV box.  Ahhhhh- bliss for all.

Fast forward 7 weeks later…….  the first request out of my kids mouths right after they open their eyes in the morning (and before I open mine), and right before I close their door to their bedroom at night is “Can we watch… or Can we play Xbox… or Can we put in a movie???”  Then when the answer is “No”  they proceed to scream, yell, throw themselves on the ground, throw cars, attack each other and more.  Meanwhile, when asked to do their chores which they were consistently, if not happily, doing 7 weeks ago, they also do the afore-mentioned routine.

So, today I Quilted the TV.  Which means I actually put my great-grandmother Annie Samanthee’s quilt over the entire TV.  I didn’t even have to say a word.  Somehow they knew that it meant the TV was no more.  Now, I must say as I stand in my kitchen typing this, my children are still throwing cars, tossing stuffed animals, and generally creating havoc, but I am hopeful that things will calm after a few weeks , or maybe months of no TV, no Xbox, no Kinect, and no movies.  Ahhhh- the beautiful sound of silence to come, and the reminder to find joy in the moment!!! Peace, Love and Pickles to you all today.  🙂