"Burn your TV in your yard"

I grew up in a home with many TVs.  No judging one way or another... just a fact.  Farmer J grew up in a house with TV as well.  So it's not like we live the way we live now because it is all we have ever known. 

And from our first place together (a TINY one bedroom apartment) until we moved out of our first purchased "starter" home, we had a television.  One of my last memories of having a TV was watching the winter Olympics of 2010 with Pickle.  He was months old and the Olympics kept me company (and awake) during lonely midnight feedings. 

Pickle is now 5 1/2 years old.  And I still miss having a TV during the Olympics. But that is really the only time I long for a television in our home.   Honestly.

We never made a conscious decision to get rid of our TV.  It just kind of happened.  For starters, the TV we had was nothing to write home about.  Remember the mini TV/VCR combo appropriate for a dorm room?  (OK, well you will only remember that technology if you were born pre- 90's.)  Well if you do remember it... you know it wasn't fancy.  Then came other technological advances that required us to get some box and/or some antenna to use with our out of date TV so we could receive the new TV signals.  And then there was no money (or real interest) in buying a new TV.  So we just got rid of it.

Now we are so used to not having a TV that when new guests to our home ask where we have our  TV, we are slightly surprised by the question.  And to be honest, we do watch internet TV and movies on our computer, tablet and smart phones but the biggest difference is that we make a conscious decision on what we watch, when we watch it and how long we watch it.  We, as   parents, have so much more control over the images that fill our children's eyes and minds, when we approach TV in this manner.

J always tells me I have a "tender heart."  Even many of my close friends will warn me of a movie or TV show that I should stay clear of, so as to not damage my sensitive soul.   I used to fight that notion that some images would be too much for me; I don't anymore.  Still to this day, there are movie images, sounds and ideas that I wish never made it into my brain. Because once they are there, you can't get them out. 

PROS to no TV:
-a much quieter home.  this is so critical and important to us.  with two little boys, and all the noise that comes with them, we need all the extra peace we can get.
-a much less (OVER) stimulating home.  with two little boys... (see above)
-less social media and marketing influence/bombardment on us adults.... and more importantly, the children (this is especially awesome around the holidays)
-markedly less violence witnessed by us... and more importantly, the children.  when we are at another person's home and are watching network TV, we are amazed at the violence in commercials, movie trailers and TV show previews that are aired between kid friendly shows. 
-markedly less sex and hyper-sexuality witnessed by us... and more importantly, the children.  sex sells and it is EVERYONE on TV. 
-time to be bored
-more time for reading, listening to music, painting, playing games, writing, listening, using your imagination, being outside...etc. etc.
-the ability to hear your own life's soundtrack (which is otherwise (and all too often) drowned out by the white noise of television).  
-learning to be ok with silence (and the self-talk that goes on in our head when we don't try and block it out)
-decreases risk of childhood obesity
-decreases risk of hyper activity in children
-provides a more realistic (and accurate) view on life versus a make believe life that is viewed on TV.  even "reality TV" is far from real.  "Life" on TV will always appear to be prettier, more colorful, more interesting, more loving, more fun, more romantic, more daring, more exciting and more fulfilling than our ACTUAL life. 

CONS to no TV:
-I really miss it during the Olympics; it's hard to watch the Olympics on the internet and your really can't listen to the Olympics on the radio! 
-It's hard to host a football party when the guests have to listen to "the big game" on the radio
-Watching movies on a small laptop is tricky

One day, we will get a television.  Years from now, we will have two teenage boys and I can't imagine all four of us sitting side by side watching Lord of the Rings on our small laptop.  And that will be OK, the timing will be right.  And quite frankly, when they are teenagers, I'll have bigger things to worry about then how much screen time their getting everyday.

But until then, while they are still young, and playful, and imaginative, and longing for my attention and love, we will hold off on getting that high definition, plasma, flat screen TV. 

Toad the Wet Sprocket, one of J's favorite bands, sums up what I've taken paragraphs to say in their song, "Throw It All Away."  Here are the lyrics and a link to the song! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1KFHu6Wzak

 Take your cautionary tales
And take your incremental gain
And all the sycophantic games
And throw 'em all away

 Burn your tv in your yard
And gather 'round it with your friends
And warm your hands upon the fire
And start again
Take the story you've been sold
The lies that justify the pain
The guilt that weighs upon your soul
And throw 'em all away

 Tear up the calendar you bought
And throw the pieces to the sky
Confetti falling down like rain
Like a parade to usher in your life
Take the dreams that should've died
The ones that kept you lying awake
When you should've been all right
And throw 'em all away

 With the time i waste on the life i never had
I could've turned myself into a better man
There is nothing you can buy
And there is nothing you can save
To fill the hole inside your heart
So throw it all away

 Help me to empty this house
The wool i've gathered all these days
And thought i couldn't do without
And throw it all away