Too much crunch for me

We've been TV*-free almost all summer.

I wish I could say this was decision made out of concern for my kids' wellbeing; so much passive entertainment is bad for them; so much sitting around is bad for them; they should be more self-directed in their imaginings. Yes, all this is true. Good. In line with how I would be if my life approached perfection.

But the fact is, the TV broke, and I can't afford to replace it.

I wish I could say this has been a positive change for us. I'd like to herald the hidden benefits of the silencing of the monolith. (They don't fight! They are so much more creative! They even look smarter! And now they eat broccoli!!**)

If there are hidden benefits, they are still hiding.

It used to be that I could turn on a movie and they would be quiet and peaceful for awhile. "Awhile" could be an hour, sometimes. I could be in another room, mommy anntenae at 60%, working on something else, enjoying the silence.

The irony is, now that there is no TV, there is no silence.

They can't stay in the playroom for any more than a few minutes. Mommy's not there! They come back down, first Naomi, then her shadow, they fight over toys, they follow me around, Naomi's constant chatter, constant repetition of questions and stories, while very adorable, drives me out of my head.

The only escape is to go out, while I cool my heels and my head with an expensive coffee and they play in the park and Miriam gets to run around and burn off her energy and Naomi gets to point her barrage of chatter at people her own age for awhile, who are suitably awed by the same things she is. Good for them, bad for me and whatever I was trying to do. (It might have been doing the dishes. It might have been reading blogs. Whatever.)

There are days when I'd happily sell their souls to Nickelodeon for a few hours' silence.

*When I say "TV" I am referring specifially to the big black box on which DVDs are seen, not cable. We've been without cable for over a year and that has, indeed, been a positive thing. But if I could get HBO a la carte for myself I would, in a heartbeat.

**they both like broccoli anyway, and they did even when they had full access to the anti-broccoli indoctrination machine that is commercial television for kids. Did you ever notice how often the pitch for some artificial processed pretend healthy crapfood for kids is sold with the pitch "it's not broccoli, so your kids will eat it"? How long do you think before they begin to absorb that they're not supposed to like broccoli? Not long, right?

Comments

[Jenna]

Even though we don't watch MUCH here... if ours broke... I might cry. That said, Nick only likes broccoli... sometimes. And when he does? He ONLY wants to eat the broccoli. And that results in green poop. He's weird. :)

[Jennie]

Have you looked on Freecycle.org for a new-to-you TV?

[Kateri]

not yet, jennie. a friend of mine says she's got a small one seh's not using, so i'm going to get it from her. logistics aren't working out too well, though ;)

[blue milk]

Hahaha - gorgeous post.