TV Turn Off Week

TV Turn Off Week is upon us. We've participated in this event in past years and plan to this year. We didn't participate last year. We needed a dumb box to help us get through all the intensity of being a family together. Now, before you go and misunderstand, we're talking about a movie or two a weekend after spending all day doing family things together. But, we needed it. Boy did we need that break.

I'm not saying that we don't now, as you know if you've been following my blog at all, but we are still participating this year.

I haven't told Max yet. Why? I'm afraid he'll be really pissed off about not having video games all week. I know he'll consider it punishment. I'm putting off having the conversation.

I don't know when the official TV Turn Off Week is supposed to start, but we're doing it tomorrow through Saturday.

I'm only allowing myself 10 minutes of computer time each day, so I may not be keeping up the blog this week. Or, at least, only a short message or two here and there. I've gotten into the habit of overusing the computer and have been spending much more time than I need to on it. I'll be wandering by..."Oh, look, I could just pop on in and see if I have any new email. I need to see if anyone has posted something new on their blog today....so what if I checked it less than an hour ago."

That needs to stop.

What I really need is a book I'm really into. I haven't had one for a while. The last one I read took forever because I didn't really want to be reading it, but was making myself. It was a parenting book. For the life of me I can't remember the title. Anyway, it was about reforging lost connections between parents and their children.

It was all about how to connect with your child - to offer unconditional love and forgiveness. It was not at all about how to give proper consequences or anything like that, but the author did recommend that you do so. He just said the most important thing was your bond with your child.

I appreciated the message, for the most part. What I've found lately, though, is that parenting books depress me. Mostly, I'm already doing a lot of what they want me to do - show affection, be playful, yadda, yadda. However, I can't do it all the time. I'm not perfect. Reading parenting books make me feel like I'm supposed to be, though.

Then I moved on to "The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog." Not light reading. After reading a bit, I put it aside. It was interesting, but not what I want to read right now. I'm tired of trying to understand the inner lives of traumatized children. Sorry. I have done a lot of that, but I need a break from it. Plus, this book was actually pretty technical and was just not working for me.

So, what to read? I may need to raid Davan's bookshelf for some of her current favorites. One series has her very excited right now. I could try it.

But, the thick and thin of it is, no TV, video game and minimal computer this week. Yes, indeed. See you next week.