First of all, if you’re a tv person, please do not be offended. This post is not meant to be judgmental towards the folks out there who enjoy a great deal of television and/or movie viewing.
With that said, I must confess I’ve been involved in too much staring at the television as of late. For quite a few years, I have not been a tv person. Sure, I have a few shows I like. And often it’s part of family time. This summer my kids and I watched the 24 season set in London [who doesn’t love Jack Bauer?], the entire Veronica Mars series [it’s not often television portrays the attractive blond girl as brilliant and capable of getting into Stanford] followed by the movie, and quite a lot of the series Suits [I adore Donna….I want to be just like Donna…..especially if I can have her clothes].
At the end of August, I began my time as a temporary empty nester. I absolutely had to finish watching as many episodes of Suits available via Amazon Prime Instant Video. Which I did. And then I decided to watch a few movies. One I enjoyed….love story, coming of age, conflicting parents, rich girl/bad boy. Another left me a bit disturbed….it had to do with addicts…..including sex addicts…..so while at times funny, it was also a very realistic look at the pain some suffer. And then a movie about two married [to other people] folks in mid life who meet and are attracted to each other, which really mainly frustrated me.
So tonight, despite the fact I have a free movie from the library about Renoir available to watch, I decided not to. While I could easily entertain myself night after night with television and movie viewing, I don’t think it’s good for me. I need to discipline myself. I saw it quickly becoming a routine……leave work, exercise or do yard work, make dinner, sit in from of the television for an hour or more, head to bed. Granted, this is not a horrible routine. And for someone who recently found herself alone in a home that weeks ago had three residents, it’s not an immoral choice necessarily to get a bit of emotional release from this type of entertainment.
But it’s not what I want every night for the next ten months [until my daughter returns from her foreign exchange trip]. I have decided to discipline myself. Make myself read. I actually love to read. Much more than I enjoy watching television or movies. I need to make myself finish the home projects I’ve started. I need to listen to the evening programing on NPR that I nerdishly enjoy. I like to bake. I should practice piano. There’s a myriad of things I can do. Oh, and I shouldn’t forget…..spending time with God.
Incidentally I spent many years as a stay at home mom. During those years, I did not allow myself to watch any adult daytime television. By adult, I mean no Oprah, no Today Show, no game shows, no news at noon. Because I didn’t want to get sucked in. I didn’t want to be tied down everyday to some dumb program instead of being present with my kids.
So now that I’m alone, I guess I owe it to myself to not zone out every night. Even if it’s not wrong. It’s not right for me.
