September A Year Ago

I realized this past week that Season Premieres were starting up for all my favorite shows. It's funny how times change. Last year I had my work calendar highlighted with the premiere dates/times of all of the shows I watched so I'd know what days I had the TV (and what days I would let Nate have it to make up for my TV watching that he didn't enjoy). My line-up typically included Grey's Anatomy, Bones, House, The Biggest Loser, 19 Kids and Counting, Ace of Cakes, Jon and Kate Plus 8, Table for 12, and a few others whose names I can't recall. Basically I had at least one show on every night that I would watch. Granted, many times I'd DVR the show to watch at a later time but for the most part I knew that Tuesday thru Thursday nights were parked in front of the TV getting my television watching in.

Fast forward to this week and along came a realization of how different my life is. 1) I had no idea that this was season premiere week. None whatsoever. It wasn't until I saw a headline for a Grey's Anatomy episode review that I realized I'd missed a bunch of my shows. 2) We currently don't have a TV (see previous post Electronics Fear Me for explanation why) so if I did want to watch something it'd be on my tiny 17" laptop. 3) Since I'm a Stay at Home Mom I find that I really look forward to talking to Nate when he gets home from work, showing him Abby's latest 'trick', and just enjoying my family time. TV time doesn't seem as high up on the list any more.

Now, I will fully admit that I still keep up to date on 19 Kids and Counting through my iTunes subscription to the season. For those that know me, they know that I LOVE the Duggar family. No, I don't agree with everything they do but I truly enjoy my 30 or so minutes of wholesome entertainment. I don't have to worry about Abby watching it with me (and seeing nakedness/violence or hearing vulgarities) and I get some neat parenting tips, too.

But when I look at my television habits and how they've changed over the last year I really am surprised. I, who once left a friend's dinner gathering early to catch the voting results episode of American Idol, now don't miss the lack of television in the house and really only watch a little bit every few days. My how times change. Hopefully I can keep up this minimum TV time after we purchase a new TV!