“Mother knitted and rocked in her high-backed rocking-chair. Father carefully scraped a new ax handle with a bit of broken glass. royal carved a chain of tiny links from a smooth stick of pine, and Alice sat on her hassock, doing her woolwork embroidery. And they all ate popcorn and apples, and drank sweet cider, except Eliza Jane. Eliza Jane read aloud the news in the New York weekly paper.”
“Farmer Boy” Laura Ingalls Wilder
A year ago we canceled Direct TV, and where we live that is our only option for television, we don’t even pick up the local stations, and our lives have changed! Instead of hurrying the kids off to bed so we can watch our “shows” we now hurry the kids so we can all read together. Dadzoo and I talk, we read and work on other projects. In the summer we spend more time gardening and playing outside with our kids. I haven’t given up on TV all together, we still watch movies (something that we need to cut down on) but I think we have become more discerning. We netflix documentaries and good family movies. We are not continually bombarded with all the junk on TV so we aren’t as tolerant of junk in movies.
One thing I have found that I really enjoy in the winter time in crochet. I so enjoy sitting next to Dadzoo after the kids are to bed and the dishes done, while he reads or watches some movie and crochet. It is so much more relaxing to me and I feel as if I have done something instead of sitting and waiting to be entertained. I am learning to relax in ways that build relationship, expand minds and build character.
way to go Mommy!
I'm with you on this…we too turned off our direct TV, and get our movies from Netflix, only one at a time. Right now we're enjoying old episodes of the Walton's. It's been a wonderful thing to be TV-less. I have found that our family spends more time together, we are so much more productive and creative. There are many blessings to be found in living a simple life!!!
I agree that the tv sucks up too much family time! We have gone without it in the past for long stretches. The kids have been more creative because of it and I have definately been more efficient in cleaning when the tube isn't calling…
I have patterns and yarn if you need any.
I'm with you! When everyone was frantically buying new tv sets or anxiously awaiting their coupons for a free converter box last June, I decided not to participate. I don't have cable or DirecTV, and felt if I could make it 6 months without TV, then I could probably do anything.
I've taken up knitting, and I'm working on finishing up some of the books I've started reading over the years. …Granted, I joined netflicks last week, but I'm limited to two movies a month. I'm really enjoying life more, now that I'm not chained to the "boob-tube".
All I have to say is . . . I love this post.
I would love to get rid of my TV. At this point, I think my husband would divorce me… maybe sometime in the future.
I do want to learn how to crochet so badly!!!!
Another wonderful, thoughtful post.
Wanna teach me how to crochet? We have taken to calling our evenings our gathering time. We are all together and are striving to spend that time meaningfully as a family. We are working to make bedtime a peaceful and enjoyable time. I have even been thinking of turning most of the lights out and using candles or other low lighting. The idea has been in my head for awhile but I have not done anything about implementing it. Our simplification might be coming along slowly but it is coming.
Sorry for the ramble…