Okay, so it didn't exactly get stolen. I am selling my old house and I used the TV to stage it. Since we're a one TV family, that means we're going without in our new house.
I panicked at first. "How will I fill my nights?" I gasped. "What will I do?" The answer, it turns out, is a lot! It turns out I LOVE not having a TV. Here are some of the things I've rediscovered:
1. I'm learning to play the piano.
2. I'm cooking more. Without a show or a Netflix to plop down in front of, I think, "Gosh, maybe I'll make dinner." And then I do.
3. I'm reading again. Sure, I read regularly; I'm an editor. But back when we had our TV and I would get home from work, I'd tell myself, "Ugh, I've been editing all day. I'm sick of reading! I'll just watch TV." But it turns out that was just an easy excuse to watch TV. I have plenty of mental space left for books -- and now I have the time to read them!
4. My better half and I are spending more time doing actual interactive things. Several nights in a row last week we sat at the dining room table and played board games. We played chess. We got out the video camera and filmed our dogs doing tricks.
We've been having so much fun without the TV, we don't know if we want it back. We're thinking we might keep it in the basement when we get it back and drag it up only for the occasional movie.
I panicked at first. "How will I fill my nights?" I gasped. "What will I do?" The answer, it turns out, is a lot! It turns out I LOVE not having a TV. Here are some of the things I've rediscovered:
1. I'm learning to play the piano.
2. I'm cooking more. Without a show or a Netflix to plop down in front of, I think, "Gosh, maybe I'll make dinner." And then I do.
3. I'm reading again. Sure, I read regularly; I'm an editor. But back when we had our TV and I would get home from work, I'd tell myself, "Ugh, I've been editing all day. I'm sick of reading! I'll just watch TV." But it turns out that was just an easy excuse to watch TV. I have plenty of mental space left for books -- and now I have the time to read them!
4. My better half and I are spending more time doing actual interactive things. Several nights in a row last week we sat at the dining room table and played board games. We played chess. We got out the video camera and filmed our dogs doing tricks.
We've been having so much fun without the TV, we don't know if we want it back. We're thinking we might keep it in the basement when we get it back and drag it up only for the occasional movie.
And... you're blogging! :)