Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Turn Off the TV Week by Ginny Baird

We recently returned from the beach, and had an awesome family vacation. One of the things that made it so lovely was that all six of our children could come, at least for little patches of time during our rental week. Another element that made the time special was that we got back to basics. We frolicked in the waves, walked on the shore, read plenty of books, and played group games. We also spent lots of time visiting and eating great meals, which we took turns preparing. Something we didn’t do was turn on the TV.

While it’s fun to watch family movies and everyone has their favorite shows, it somehow seemed a waste of precious ocean hours to stay glued to a screen when there were so many better things to do. And so, before we’d even departed, I (as the Mama Bear) I made the suggestion. Why not take time to really enjoy our environment and each other, and leave that droning television set turned off? We were lucky enough to be staying oceanfront. Wouldn’t it be so much nicer to hear the sound of the waves?

Much to my delight, and my husband’s as well, we didn’t receive a peep of complaint all week long. Instead, kids (well, they’re grown kids now, all 18+) and parents savored many of those simpler pleasures that can’t be gotten via pay-per-view. We challenged each other in corn hole, grilled burgers and brats, held a crab-eating fest, and even ate sticky s’mores. Most of all, we made memories, those precious mental pictures that are far more enduring than thoughts of another seasonal episode. While technology now enables us to download TV shows once we’ve missed them, there’s no way to wind back the clock and recapture special moments that might have been made. We’re so glad we took advantage of ours.

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Ginny Baird writes contemporary romance novels and novellas, ranging from traditional romantic comedies to short and sweet love stories. She’s recently released Book 4 in her Summer Grooms Series, The Getaway Groom. You can find it at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iTunes and Kobo.

10 comments:

  1. What I fun book. I really enjoyed reading The Getaway Groom. full of humor and a clean romance.

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    1. Thank you, Leslie. I'm thrilled you enjoyed The Getaway Groom. Thanks for sharing!

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  2. Nice story, Ginny. Glad it was such a good time.

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    1. Thanks, Joanne! Yeah, it was great. I think we set a precedent. :)

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  3. Great idea, Ginny--and I'm glad the family gave it a try. It's been over a decade since I watched TV, and I can't say I miss it.

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    1. Thanks, Magdalena! It was a fun and refreshing experience. :)

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  4. Sounds like a wonderful vacation. We rarely watch TV on vacation, either. Too many other interesting things to do. Actually, we don't often watch TV at home either. We're always too busy.

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    1. It was, Helen. Thank you! I'm sure we'll be following the same protocol again. :)

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