I have always had a real love/hate relationship with tv.
In some ways I love it, I enjoy some of the shows I’ve seen, some of the movies I’ve watched, I’ve learned some things from tv.
On the other hand, I really hate it. I hate the time suck that it is. I can’t stand it when the kids don’t hear me, because they are glued to it, and not paying attention to what’s going on around them. TV can be so memorizing to the viewer.
Growing up, I didn’t watch much tv, that I can remember anyways. And I’m glad. I have no real heart-strings to the tv and I know this isn’t the case for a lot of people, including, unfortunately, even some of my own children.
I like that I can take it, or leave it. Most days I watch tv when I go to bed now that my husband is gone. Sometimes I might watch an episode of Storage Wars with the kids in the evening. But during the day I don’t watch it at all. At night, I hate silence when I’m in bed alone, so I put the tv on and find I fall asleep much easier if I watch something fairly mindless like Dirty Jobs, Mythbusters, or even *gasp* sometimes I go for REAL mindless tv like Real Housewives (but I can only stomach so much drama, the shows should actually be called Real Drama Housewives… Sorry to those who love the shows!) I also like Project Runway (I think anyone with a love for fabric does! lol)
My absolute favorite show to fall asleep to though, is America’s Funniest Home Videos. No better way to fall asleep then to fall asleep laughing.
All this to say, I have a love/hate relationship with tv. I found a story in a little flyer/paper recently. I can’t find any copywrite info, and there’s no indication of an author, so I hope it’s ok for me to share the story here. I just thought it was good! I’ve shortened it a little as it was quite long.
A group of children were asked to write an essay about what they would like God to do for them. One child’s essay went like this:
‘Oh God, today I ask you something very special; Make me into a Television. I want to take it’s place and live like the TV in my house. Have my own special place, and have my family around me. I want to be taken seriously when I talk. I want to be the centre of attention and be heard without interruptions or questions. I want to receive the same special care that the TV receives even when it’s not working. Have the company of my dad when he arrives home from work, even when he is tired. And I want my mom to want me when she is sad and upset, instead of ignoring me. And… I want my brothers to fight to be with me… I want to feel that family just leaves everything aside, every now and then, just to spend same time with me. And last but not least, ensure that I can make them all happy and entertain them. Lord I don’t ask for much. I just want to live like a TV.’
And the story pretty much sums up my love/hate relationship with tv. I think the story is a good reminder to keep tv in it’s place. The same can be said for the computer as well *guilty sigh*.
People need one another. Real communication.
Tv & computers can be great, we can learn from them, use them as part of our daily lives, but it’s up to us to keep them in their place. I’m going to make more of an effort to do just that in our home. Life’s too short to do otherwise!