Mother's Little Helper

demetrie1
Originally uploaded by Green Kitchen.
demetrie3
Originally uploaded by Green Kitchen.
demetrie2
Originally uploaded by Green Kitchen.

As a stay-at-home mom my drug of choice has been the television. This is as surprising to me as it is shocking to my close friends. I grew up with the TV on all the time and at some point decided it was all wrong and tried to talk my family into getting rid of it, which was not a popular concept—we continued with the low drone of constant TV chatter. When I moved away from home I felt refreshed by my no-TV-havin' life. I used to say, "Doing *anything* else is better than watching TV." It was a pleasant fourteen year reprieve, then, I moved back home.

In the last four years I have fallen into the easy habit of letting my son watch TV so that I can have a break from my 60-hours-a-week mom's-in-charge-job. First, it was just videos (which are, by the way, a gateway drug) and, then, onto the good stuff, cable TV (I heart Noggin). I feel guilty as all hell. One day my mom says, "When you guys move out I'm going to cancel the cable." I say and think "What? You've been keeping it for *us*? For the kid? I thought it was *your* security blanket. You've *got* to cancel it!"

That was a few months ago, at least. On brave days I would remind my mom to cancel the cable. Then, I would start to panic a little, wondering what the hell I was going to do without TV. How would I blog? How would I knit, crochet, do dishes, fix dinner, go to the bathroom?

So, yesterday, we came home from preschool, which was a workday for me (always a tiring proposition), and my mom surprises me by telling me she cancelled the cable. Yikes! I hadn't even eaten yet, my baby was tired, and my preschooler wanted to relax with a little TV. I quickly had to explain to my son why we think too much TV is bad and that our new family motto is, "Less TV, More Fun." Cake helped stop the tears.

Today was a good day. No tears and lots of activity and books. I think I'll do OK with the making the kids happy part, but I wonder when I'll get to do anything for me. Got any pointers, Amanda, others?

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These paintings are by my very talented friend Demetrie, who moved away to Brooklyn a couple years ago and left all sorts of his cool art with me. He did this series in 2000. In a future life I want to make a stuffed animal based on the guy with the long neck.