Tuesdays & Thursdays = No TV

While growing up I dreaded when my mom wanted to "try something new".

"Now girls," she'd say (I do have an older brother but he was married by the time I remember chores coming around), "we're going to try something different. On Mondays and Wednesdays it will be Michelle's turn to do the dishes and Tuesdays and Thursdays will be April's turn to make dinner." "Ugh...can't we just go on like we are?", we'd say. "We come home from school, do our homework and then watch tv?" Of course looking back she was teaching us new things, we were gaining bits of responsiblity and never realizing she was preparing us for life.

I had one of those "let's try something new" moments the other day and I could see my dread, from all those years ago, in their faces. "We're going to try something new," I said, "there is just too much tv watching and video game playing going on so, Tuesdays and Thursdays we're not going to do either of those things and instead we're going to play together."

Gabe says, "All day? All day there's no tv or video games? What about Leapsters? They're learning games, can we do those?" Now Tressa pipes in, "Does the Wii count too? Cuz' some of the games you jump around and stuff and you get stronger, it's good exercise ya' know mom." I am trying hard not to laugh at their attempts to hold onto their normalcy.

"No," I said, "no Wii, no Leapsters."

So, after a few grumblings, a few more pleading questions and some disgusted looks we "agree" it will be a good thing. The next morning I awake with Gabe over my head, "Today's Tuesday right mom, so I can't play the Xbox right?" "Yes, Gabe that's right." "Right, that's what I thought." he says.

The day begins kind of rough with "I'm bored" and "there's nothing to do" and any suggestions made by me are quickly dismissed. So, I went upstairs and started bringing toys down and soon they quickly saw toys "they hadn't even ever seen before" and the make-believe playing began which brought back so many memories of when I was a kid. "Let's take these outside," Tressa says, " and it can be like a treasure hunt!" Gabe's not so sure that's a good idea so she pours it on thick with her syrupy sweet voice and tells him how exciting it will be and he could be the leader and they'd find all kinds of jewels and the pirates would be after them..."Oh yeah! I'll go get my sword and I can chop the bad guys head off!" Gabe says, totally into it now. Amazing, I think. What a great idea. Suddenly I felt how my mother must have felt when we were kids. I felt so proud, not of myself but of her. She didn't have to spend time with us but she did, she didn't have to let us leave our gigantic cardboard house in the middle of the living room but she did, she didn't have to take the time to instill in us the things she did ~ but she did. And now I am passing on those things to my kids and someday I will see them passing them on to theirs. And that won't be so far away. They're changing so fast now and the opportunity is right now, not tomorrow or not even "in a minute". I want my kids to be proud of me when they see themselves instilling good things into their children.

So go call your mother and tell her how much she means to you and go spend some quality time with the people you love.