I did finally tackle the laundry, and had the kids put them away! And I must say, I am actually surprised by how much faster I got through them. I knew without television it would be quicker, I just didn't realize how much quicker. In the past if I started folding around 1 or 2pm, by 7pm I would still be folding, clothes would be spread out on the floor still waiting to be put away, and there would be 1, maybe 2 more bags that I hadn't gotten to. But without TV, by 5 pm I was finished with everything. I'm talking 6 bags of clothes (although there is one more load in the dryer, but I'm saving that for next week.) It's a record I'm not even sure I want to admit to because it underscores just how time consuming watching and folding can be.
Now I didn't post on Monday or Tuesday because, even to me, it started to sound a bit redundant: You can get more done with no TV. It started to feel like a duh moment; like, "Hey I'm much healthier now that I started exercising." All together now, "Duh!" So I even thought about moving to weekly updates, seven day stretches, and checking in with a quick shout out of, "Still hanging in there. Keeping the tube off and getting more work done, blah, blah, blah." The only problem is that I forgot about the dreaded business travel. The four or five days the hubby isn't home to tag me out and relieve me.
So on this second day of the nonstop 24-hour shift, I almost broke down. I was so close to throwing my hands up and turning on the TV. And I realize, this is it, this is the reason I started watching more and more television to begin with. The kids are too young to leave on their own, it's too much trouble to take them over to their grandparent's home, and it's too costly for a babysitter. So my escape was to become intimate with the lives of those on television. Fiction or reality. In fact I started watching The Office (favorite show in the world) because when it first aired I was at home with three babies; and it was so much like a job I once had (factory and all), that it was like I was at work, except at a much cooler and funnier workplace, and I was drawn into it.
There is a little boy who is fairly new to our neighborhood who keeps wanting to come into our home. I told him a number of times that I didn't know his mother and therefore couldn't accept that responsibility. Well yesterday he went and got his mother, she told me he said, "Mom you have to come, she won't let me in until you come over!" Even she was seeking a break, and if all she needed to do was to walk a few hundred feet and shake hands, she was going to do it. In the past all I needed was the remote control.
But I haven't given in yet, and believe me I'm fighting hard. First I told myself that I hadn't factored in out-of-town travel and therefore the contract with myself was null and void. Then I thought about just watching TV and lying about it. Then I told myself to just give up, who cares whether I watch TV or not? But there's a reason I decided to take a break from all kinds of visual stimulants, which--I had to remind myself--could have been done anyway without blogging about it. But I guess I knew somewhere in the recess of my mind that it would be a challenge and knew I needed accountability.
Here's to not giving in.
No comments:
Post a Comment