Last Thursday we got rid of digital cable. We returned our digital HD DVR cable box to Comcast. Wow, that's a mouthful. And a walletful. In a very calculated response to the influence of media in our daughters' lives, and the high cost of cable we rarely watched as a family, we cut the box out of our lives.
Ron and I came home from the Comcast office, screwed the cable cord from the wall into the back of the tv, and waited. Not for our twelve remaining channels, but for the unknown response of our girls.
No more Icarly. No more Spongebob. No more Mystery Machine. No more I shouldn't be alive because our boy scout leader took us hiking in the Grand Canyon without enough water.
We held our breath.
Our girls walked in, turned on PBS, and began watching a show on possible ancient hobbit-sized ancestors. And then they went to bed.
It took two days for them to realize the 200 channels were gone. And then they still didn't care one single bit. There has only been one complaint in the house this entire past week- and that was from Ron and I as we lamented football season.
Our girls don't care about tv shows. I will reason to guess most kids don't. It is simply something to fill up their time and minds.
Yesterday afternoon Ainsley was watching Arthur on PBS, wondering in anticipation what show would come on after DW saved the world. She sat stunned as a news show popped on the screen. She was very confused and came to ask me about it.
"Mommy, I was watching kids shows and a news show came on. I think someone changed the channel."
I explained to her how the channels we have now only play cartoons for a certain amount of time, and then other shows come on. She has grown up on Sprout, Noggin, Disney, and Nickelodeon, and has never heard of such a thing. I could see her processing this new and fascinating information for about 15 seconds. Then...
"Oh. Can I go outside and play?"
She skipped outside and forgot all about the media universe that used to exist in our televison. I am very happy about that.
And I can't wait till Saturday morning cartoons. :)
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Monday, August 23, 2010
New things...
What a momentous Monday.
Maise and Onnie headed to middle school this morning. Onnie is returning as a 7th grader, but Maise is a brand new sixth grader. New school for her, new friends to meet, and new challenges to face. Onnie knows the layout of the school, but it is a brand new year for her as well, with some pretty tough classes, as she is part of the Pre-AP program. She does has some friends on her "team"- Cherry Creek School System speak for the way they separate out the grades. Both girls share teams this year with girls who have bullied them in the past. I pray for a good year for both of them, not problem-free, but one in which they are sucessful and will stand- during the difficult times and for what they believe in.
I pray you have a good, NEW Monday as well. :)
Maise and Onnie headed to middle school this morning. Onnie is returning as a 7th grader, but Maise is a brand new sixth grader. New school for her, new friends to meet, and new challenges to face. Onnie knows the layout of the school, but it is a brand new year for her as well, with some pretty tough classes, as she is part of the Pre-AP program. She does has some friends on her "team"- Cherry Creek School System speak for the way they separate out the grades. Both girls share teams this year with girls who have bullied them in the past. I pray for a good year for both of them, not problem-free, but one in which they are sucessful and will stand- during the difficult times and for what they believe in.
I pray you have a good, NEW Monday as well. :)
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Road Trip Ephiphany number uno...
"Adventure is out there!!" -Onnie, as quoted from Up. :)
Boy, is she right.
It is August first. Day 26 of the Great Road Trip. At least I think that is correct. I honestly can't really remember anymore which day this all began. I know Mel and I left on a Saturday, saw Matt on a Mon night, was with Suzy on a Thurs, and that we had a tire explode on the way to Estes Park on a Friday. And that the drive back to Virginia began on a Tuesday night, and seemed to end about 100 hours later on a still dark Thursday morning.
But that is what my life has become- days of the week marking out the moments of my summer instead of numbers on a calendar. I am mostly okay with that. I will not remember searching for Frank's grave on July 10, 2010. But I will remember it was a Saturday afternoon, a peaceful and hot one, with the red dirt under our feet and the blue sky overhead. I will never forget Melissa rolling down the window and yelling, "We love you Frank!" at the top of her lungs as we drove away.
This trip has not been about the sights seen, although some have been pretty cool. Driving down a big hill in Natchez, Mississppi and suddenly finding the great Mississppi River, gigantic and majestic. The sunset in New Mexico with glowing clouds and strange green mesas. Seeing the ocean in Biloxi, so happy to find saltwater I could have jumped right off that bridge into it. Pretty awe-inspiring stuff. Although I don't remember the days of the week we saw the cool sights. Days are only connected with people.
Melissa making me laugh so hard I couldn't breathe. That was daily. Hugging Matt again, on a Monday, after so many years. Meeting Suzy's beautiful girls for the first time on a Wednesday. Seeing my husband's smile when we finally made it back on a Friday night. My sweet father fixing the guest bedroom for me so I could crash on a Thursday morning after being awake for 3 days. Hugging Ron's grandmother and my nephews yesterday. It was Saturday. Eating the yummy breakfast my mom-in-law just fixed me, complete with homemade blackberry jam. It is Sunday morning. Picking up Ron at the Roanoke airport- it will be Thursday. Taking the girls to Gatlinburg with my parents, that will be next Sunday.
People make our lives, move the moments and create something out the numbers on the calendar. I am blessed- TODAY.
Thanks for reading!!
Boy, is she right.
It is August first. Day 26 of the Great Road Trip. At least I think that is correct. I honestly can't really remember anymore which day this all began. I know Mel and I left on a Saturday, saw Matt on a Mon night, was with Suzy on a Thurs, and that we had a tire explode on the way to Estes Park on a Friday. And that the drive back to Virginia began on a Tuesday night, and seemed to end about 100 hours later on a still dark Thursday morning.
But that is what my life has become- days of the week marking out the moments of my summer instead of numbers on a calendar. I am mostly okay with that. I will not remember searching for Frank's grave on July 10, 2010. But I will remember it was a Saturday afternoon, a peaceful and hot one, with the red dirt under our feet and the blue sky overhead. I will never forget Melissa rolling down the window and yelling, "We love you Frank!" at the top of her lungs as we drove away.
This trip has not been about the sights seen, although some have been pretty cool. Driving down a big hill in Natchez, Mississppi and suddenly finding the great Mississppi River, gigantic and majestic. The sunset in New Mexico with glowing clouds and strange green mesas. Seeing the ocean in Biloxi, so happy to find saltwater I could have jumped right off that bridge into it. Pretty awe-inspiring stuff. Although I don't remember the days of the week we saw the cool sights. Days are only connected with people.
Melissa making me laugh so hard I couldn't breathe. That was daily. Hugging Matt again, on a Monday, after so many years. Meeting Suzy's beautiful girls for the first time on a Wednesday. Seeing my husband's smile when we finally made it back on a Friday night. My sweet father fixing the guest bedroom for me so I could crash on a Thursday morning after being awake for 3 days. Hugging Ron's grandmother and my nephews yesterday. It was Saturday. Eating the yummy breakfast my mom-in-law just fixed me, complete with homemade blackberry jam. It is Sunday morning. Picking up Ron at the Roanoke airport- it will be Thursday. Taking the girls to Gatlinburg with my parents, that will be next Sunday.
People make our lives, move the moments and create something out the numbers on the calendar. I am blessed- TODAY.
Thanks for reading!!
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