Today I got home from work exhausted, and wanted nothing more than to collapse on the couch with a bowl of some kind of leftovers and zone out into TV land. But I couldn't. Because I gave TV up for Lent.
I was worried that this would happen, that I would get bored around my apartment without the crutch of TV to lean on. Of course there are lots of screenless things I love to do, but TV is such a comfort food that I was worried I'd miss it. It turns out I haven't really. I've enjoyed how quiet our apartment is without it. And I've enjoyed how mentally active it makes me feel. Especially after a long day like today, it forces me to make choices about my free time, to confront the things that need to get done, and to find the energy to do the things I want to do, even if they're not as easy as plopping down in front of a good show.
That's not to say that I was ever an extreme TV watcher. But it does have a tendency to suck you in and make hours and evenings disappear. Without it, our apartment feels cleaner, our food feels healthier, and the hours feel longer. And I'm almost never bored.
I am going to start watching TV again. Mad Men is back (yes, I watched the season premier, but a loophole in the Christian calendar says that's okay), the Red Sox start a new season next week, and I need to know who's going to win the next seasons of Project Runway and So You Think You Can Dance. I can't help it, I'm a product of my culture. But before I turn it on, I'm going to remember how nice it is to have it off, and really think through whether or not there's something I'd rather be doing.
