Like many of you, Mediacom is far-from-favorite place we want to give our money to. Their customer service is beyond poor, but there just isn’t many options for internet and TV in our area. So we canceled our internet/cable with Mediacom and just have internet through Century Link now (fantastic connection, so far). So we are saving some money over the next 6 months by not having cable, but then if we chose to go back to Mediacom, they may THEN value us as a customer to give us decent pricing again, and we start over?
We have never had satellite or spent more then the bare minimum for cable so we were not very hooked in the first place. I have never seen Jersey Shore or most of the reality shows everyone talks about. It has never been a priority. We do have streaming Netflix (for now), a Wii, and Apple TV to keep us somewhat connected and I cannot wait to get caught up with the latest seasons of Dexter & Weeds through Netflix or whatever our poison may be. But even with those options, not having that hour or so of typical TV before bed is challenging. With just basic cable before, there was only one channel for the kids – and that was PBS. This is probably what I (and kids) will miss the most. First, just great shows (Martha Speaks, Curious George, Cat in the Hat). Second, having something there in the morning for the kids to get thru the wake-up time.
B loves “movies”. Movies to him are anything he can pick off Netflix, even it it is short show. Whenever he gets hurt or is really tired he gets into a “I want to watch a movie” whine. I don’t mind a “movie” during quiet time and I love movie night with kids and popcorn.
MJ is a Wii boy. He would play Wii all afternoon if I let him, but we usually set the time for a half hour and go from there. We don’t have many games so he is really good at the ones we have – Wii Resorts, Mario, Moster Jam. Wii is Mav’s TV. Although he is also one who can be glued to a TV when walking by it if it is on.
So my experiment, week 1, the start of NO TV. Here is what happened:
- Started to declutter old paperwork and said goodbye to a bag full of old papers that should have been shredded years ago
- Wrote 3 (your reading #3) blog posts this week for Inspiration of the Moon
- B played Curious George computer games this morning instead of watching TV.
- I also got caught up on 2 of the kids baby books, which I can’t attribute totally to not having TV, but I think getting thru the piles of old paperwork inspired me to carry on with other crap that has been taunting me.
So, my goals: Spend more quality time with my kids and husband. Get more creative. Enjoy more books. Get more done.
Would this challenge be easier to take in the summer months? Without a doubt.
Will I get tired of being on this computer? Probably.
Will I end up doing lots of reading? I hope so.
Will my kids be deprived? I don’t think so.
Will I be insane by the time winter is done? Quite possibly.
