The Thief in My Living Room

I finished reading Tuesdays with Morrie written by Mitch Albom. It is a powerful book with many pertinent life lessons. My husband suggested that I didn't need them as much as other people might, but it never hurts to hear these lessons again. And I'll tell you why.

It is not unusual for me to have the nightly news on while I am cooking dinner. I often listen to the local news then the national news. By then, I have dinner on the table, we turn off the TV and sit down to eat. I feel like I have accomplished both nourishing and nurturing my family and have fed my brain. The other night though, I paid more attention to my actions during this time. Morrie had just finished telling Mitch to be more in the moment in the book and I thought I would try out this concept. I realized that as my children communicated with me, I was also paying attention to the TV and the dinner on the stove. Eventually, I'm not sure what my children were telling me, what the news piece was about and dinner nearly burned. I covered for it all but I clearly was not living in the present.

So what robbed me of that moment? I decided to pay attention so I could better answer that question. But the answer is not one that the cable company would like to hear. The TV robbed me of that moment and many others. I can listen effectively to my children while the dinner is cooking. Very few recipes require intense concentration. But the TV demanded my attention at the same time as the children and I tried to meet its demands. In the interest of scientific experimentation, I paid attention to our TV habits during the rest of the week. And the answer continued to be the same. When my children were watching TV, they very rarely heard me the first time I said something. When the TV was on, my husband was less responsive to my questions. And, I was guilty of the same behavior my family was exhibiting.

I will continue to watch TV. I like the news in the morning and it is football season. The Phillies will make it into the post-season (unless Lidge keeps blowing saves, but that is for another time) and I do like my cooking shows. But, now that I know the TV is guilty of robbing me of my quality time with my family, I will be very careful of how much attention it gets.