NewlyNested: Back on the (Cable) Crack
This past summer I told you that I got rid of cable. I even documented that I was being more productive , but also more obsessive over shows that I loved like Mad Men. I thought once I got rid of my cable networks that it would be easier to resist sitting in front of the tube. I was wrong.
The real problem is that I love television. Even though I want to be a novel writer, the truth is that I like television more than most novels (just not my favorites). Last week my husband and I started to catch up on Men Of A Certain Age. The season finale “Let The Sunshine In” reminded me exactly why I missed television so much. I knew the characters and I knew what to expect, but they still made me laugh and root for them. The connection to these characters, much like following a character in a novel, is a long relationship that I can be a part of for years with my favorite shows. Plus, when I watch TV I don’t have to think so much, which is a good thing at the end of my day.
The next day I ordered my cable back, but I didn’t tell my husband. He has actually been on my case since I cancelled cable to bring it back into our home. I thought that it would take him a few days to notice that all his favorite channels were back in his house. I was wrong. It took 9 minutes. Oddly enough Patti Stanger, The Millionaire Matchmaker, on Bravo is what caught his attention when I was flipping through the channels. We began to set all our shows to record (there must be at least 60 of them) and he proclaimed “You are never getting rid of cable again!” Just as I was thinking, “Oh my gosh, I really do watch too much TV. This is like giving crack to a crack addict. How can I be so addicted to television and ever hope watch just a healthy amount again?” I kind of want to wean myself off television again, but at the same time I think someone might have to pry that remote out of my dead hands before I could ever part with it again. Did I make a mistake letting cable back into our lives?
featured image photo credit: chrismetcalf
I remember your original article when you got rid of cable and I think I even commented that I could NEVER do that. Perhaps I am addicted to TV, but being a child of an actual crack addict I don’t think my addiction (or yours) is that bad. Besides I think it is more like you said, when your watching TV you don’t have to think and at the end of a long day that is exactly what some of us need.
I just checked the weather in San Diego. It’s 72 degrees. Its going down to 19 degrees in Pittsburgh tonight. There is a door to the outside of your house?
Oh, I totally feel your pain. Reading your earlier blog about getting rid of cable gave me hope that one day I could do the same. I started 2011 with the idea of rationing my TV to 10 hours a week and had a calendar filled with all sorts of other things to do, but damn TV is easy when you’re tired or lazy or sick or cold or bored or sad. Maybe you need to be your own Tiger Mom (to quote ETC.) I wish you luck in fighting your addiction while having your addictive substance in close reach.