Aly's Bloggity Blog: Ways To Have Fun When The Cable Is Out

We have not had cable since Saturday. It is harder than I expected. I thought this little entertainment hiatus would hurt JD more than it does me since he watches way more T.V. than I do, but I may be struggling more than he is. I'm the type that cannot drive down the road without my radio on. I like background noise. I like to have the option to zone out from time to time and without cable, I am forced to be present ALL. DAY. LONG.

When JD is home, the T.V. is always on. He may not be watching it or even be in the same room, but the T.V. is on like a constant companion. I've gotten used to the background noise. I don't ever feel compelled to sit down and watch it, but I like catching little blurbs of the news throughout the day. We eat dinner at the dining room table as a family, but the news is on in the background. While Beatrice and I are in the kitchen preparing dinner, we hear what's happening in the world. It is always on. JD even leaves it on for the cat when we leave the house. He likes Fox Soccer Channel, who knew?

Without our background noise playing like the soundtrack of our lives, we have been watching a lot of Netflix movies. It is not the same. With the T.V., we didn't actually have to sit down and watch it. It was just on so we could hear what was going on in the world. With a movie, you have to invest some time to get into it and keep up with the plot. You can't just walk away to cook dinner and listen to what's happening, you have to sit and watch. So we've been doing a lot of sitting and watching. And that makes me feel like a loser. I hate wasting a day or even half of a day doing nothing and watching several episodes of The Sopranos back to back is exhausting.

We haven't actually been doing nothing the whole time. We've made the most of it by getting out of here and doing things. Like going to the zoo on a Monday afternoon. We spent the day in the beautiful weather checking out meerkats digging burrows and tigers sleeping on their backs. I nursed Beatrice while watching gibbons hang from trees. That was a first. We saws elephants and alligators and giraffes. JD ran through a water arch thingy like a boy and I wore uncomfortable sandals and got a blister. We got hot and sweaty and shared water while taking turns showing our girl the wonders of God's creation. It was a good day.

We've spent more time together actually being present instead of being in the same room and zoning out while watching the news. JD and I joked yesterday that maybe we should cancel the cable and live without the T.V. for awhile. We know people who do this and they all seem pretty normal. Except for their kids, they're kinda weird. Kidding, kidding. The cable guy will be here tomorrow and we will be back to normal again. I kinda hope that we turn the T.V. off more and let our entertainment come from each other. We can have fun doing many things without the T.V. Like talking.