The TV is Gone

I can't believe we did this, but we got rid of our TV. We had a 55 inch flat screen LG OLED TV in our front room, and it was going on 8 years old, bought when we moved in. It filled the wall, sleek and black, set on a dark wood console. 

Every evening after dinner I'd stretch out on the yellow couch and Jim reclined in the brown leather chair and we endlessly scrolled to find something -- something -- to watch. Netflix, Youtube Tv, Amazon Prime, PBS . . . whatever. Rarely did we settle on anything worth watching.

Mostly the TV was audible wallpaper, some noise, some distraction, nothing to really pay attention to but just there.  On.

When Xfinity gave us a new free upgraded modem with faster speeds, our laptops and iPads worked great but the TV went kaput. It would not reboot, restart or connect. 

Yes, we tried everything from off - on restarts to cleaning the connectors to rebooting and even a factory reset. Nada. No internet connection, even though we had speedy internet for all our other devices.

Customer service was unable to figure anything out and a home visit from Geek Squad couldn't be  scheduled for over two weeks. Jim plaintively said "I'm so tired of using the skills I've learned in my life in today's world" as he tried to connect what should have been a simple plug and start operation.

We're done. That's what he said. I agreed. 

I had long thought the TV was useless. I watch movies and stream shows on my laptop, he does on his iPad. I can hear it better sitting on my lap right in front of me, I can see it better, and we get everything the TV has -- movies, shows, documentaries, so why a big black focal point screen sitting in the middle of the house? Our high ceilings and hard surfaces made it impossible to hear the TV. We used captions.

So we disconnected ours and made the TV den into an office, with my desk and printer and files all together for the first time. 

The desk had been in my bedroom, too cramped by the bed, my printer was far away in the den and all my supplies were in different places. Now I have an office corner with everything all in one place. 

But no TV. It isn't just moving furniture and redecorating a space. It's a whole lifestyle change for us. This is not something I can post in a picture. It's a change to how we live. Yikes.

We no longer flop all evening mindlessly, we have to come up with things to do or music to listen to or books to read after dinner. This is a huge change for us. Without that big black glossy panel the room feels more livable. Huh.

When he's bored in the afternoons, Jim no longer turns on an old black and white WWII movie or a John Wayne western for his nap time with comforting old movies to soothe him. Although he can do that with his computer sitting on his lap running his familiar movies while he dozes.

Can two adults live in today's connected world without a big TV? Can we stay up on news and movies and entertainment without that big screen in our den? Can we live and nap and soothe our boredom and survive without audible wallpaper running? We'll find out.

When you come to visit, bring a book. We have no TV.

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