Enz cancelled our television subscription!!!
Big deal, right??? Well, it actually IS a really big deal!!! Enz was raised in a family where watching television is evvvvverything! TV sets were in every room of the house he grew up in, including the kitchen, and were alwayyys ON with too much to watch via massive satellite dish. I hated going over there when we were dating because of the constant noise and even today when we walk into my pa-in-law's house the living room television is blaring with either game shows or Italian talk shows and the kitchen set is on the other but at lesser volume... I have become much more comfortable over the years to reach for the remote and turn down the volume myself but once I told him a tiny fib (but not actually a fib) that the boys ears are extra sensitive, Nonno is getting quick at turning down the noise so the boys are comfortable there, too.
Growing up in my family was extremely different in the television-watching department; we had one television set in the den and the most basic of turn-dial programming but later on we did get an old monitor for Atari and then ColecoVision games set up in my dad's office. Mostly, if we watched television at all, it was rented movies we watched and a very few network shows like The Duke Boys (aka The Dukes of Hazzard), Growing Pains, Who's the Boss and my dad loved M*A*S*H... I don't really remember ever watching anything else. Us kids would come home from school every day, change into our after-school clothes and head outside to play with our friends until dinnertime, then we had family dinner followed by kitchen cleanup chore time. Then our parents would have their tea in the living room, where there was no TV, while reading the newspaper and my brother, sister and I would get our homework done at the table asking Mom, Dad or each other for help when needed. My brother was five years older than me so afterward he would usually retreat to watch a show or play his video games before bed but my sister would disappear into her My Little Pony world and I would usually just read before sleepytime. Television just wasn't that important in our house.
It took a very long time for me to become okay with the fact that Enz needed so many televisions in our house (but I have stuck to my guns and both the kitchen and loft are still television FREE) and that he had to switch it on the very instant he walked in the door after work. He also has to sit and watch while he has his breakfast before going to work which still makes me a little crazy even after all these years... I like to be up early but I don't like to start my day with unnecessary noise so I don't get up until he is gone for the day so I don't disturb his morning or my own. Heaven forbid I say hello or ask a question when he's concentrating on a show! And that's really just it, he watches 'shows' and not even shows he's interested in but shows to just distract him from whatever he can't seem to deal with in the quiet. To be completely honest, there are shows that I like to watch, too... but I am not willing to sit through mind-numbing loud ads to watch them and the few series and movies that I love to get lost in, I order on DVD. Hallmark Channel movies, Startgates, Star Treks and Doctor Quinns are enough for me when I have rare sick-in-bed days but I am not exaggerating when I say that when my boys and I are home alone the television does not get switched on and the quiet is perfection! I do have to admit that I also love one current reality show... The Curse of Oak Island, but I get that on DVD, too because the extra upped noise of ads totally suck! But I could very happily do with just books, puzzles and games to help pass any extra time.
So for the past few months I have been mentioning to Enz that having cable is really a big waste, especially since he has been spending so much time working at the cabin. He was having none of my 'why don't we just get rid of the cable subscription' suggestions... until a few weeks ago when he suddenly started complaining about the constant repeat programming. Hmmm, well maybe if he didn't watch SOOOOO much television they wouldn't all be reruns.....
Anyhow... last week, he finally called and did what I thought he would never, ever do. He called and he cancelled the cable.
Now, because of Enz's television addiction we have not really shared the living room in probably fifteen years or more. The boys and I spend time in there during the day sometimes but after dinner we retreat to the workshop or the bedroom and to the quiet once Enz turns on the noise and settles to watch his show noise. The most concerning part of Enz watching hours of television was that once he finally came to bed three or four hours later he would always announce angrily that "there is absolutely NOTHING worthwhile on TV!!" but he had still sat there and wasted those hours clicking through channels!
Enz cancelled the cable on Thursday, then got home late on Friday due to his work Christmas party so Saturday was our first real and full day without the television on... and what an awesome day it was! Enz had to go out to look at a stove with his dad in the morning and then we all took a drive out to drop insulation bundles at our camp in the afternoon. Once we were home and had finished with dinner, we ALL four sat together in the living room... the Christmas tree lights were on and we were all bundled in blankies, thanks to being chilled from our chilly camp visit; Enz on the love seat with his iPad'n'coffee'n'ChristmasCookie, me on the couch doing a crossword puzzle with coffee'n'ChristmasCookie, Day sleeping cuddled up behind my curled legs and Play sleeping roach-style on his bed below me, one leg stretched up so his paw rested against my knee...
.....it was quiet, tree-lighted, relaxed easiness and it was the best Christmas gift I ever could have asked for! Time spent just being and not just spent in noisiness. So far, Enz is saying he hasn't missed TV at all so I sure hope the quiet sticks around, sure looks like it actually just might!
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