20 June 2013

Boredom is a Beautiful Thing

I am waging a battle against an evil force, a force that seeks to infiltrate and destroy my happy home.  I wake up every morning, drink my coffee in a quiet house, and summon courage and perseverance to fight the good fight.  I must be strong.  I must stand my ground.  I must prevail over the darkness!

I'm talking about TV in the summertime.  *shudder*  I hate that my kids always want to watch TV, and I hate that I'm usually too weak to say no to the uninterrupted quiet time for myself.  Because I can hide from them when the TV is on, and I cannot hide from them at any other time, period.  Trust me, I've tried.

But I'm getting better at just saying no to television.  I'm hearkening back to the days when I had fewer children, more brain cells, heaps more patience, and something called a backbone, and I'm forcing the kids to find other things to do.  Or at least, I'm doing that more often than I used to, and gritting my teeth through the "I'm boreds" and the "What can I dos" and the "Pleaaaaases" and the "There's nothing to do around heres."

And I have been vindicated!  Turns out, boredom does in fact breed creativity!  Which means that for today, at least, I conquered the Disney Channel!

Exhibit A, for your viewing pleasure, from my 12 year old:



Forced to do something besides watch TV, he figured out how to do this with his iPod Touch, frame by frame.  Had I caved, and let them all rot their brains in front of the TV, this gem would not have surfaced.  So pretty much, I can take credit for this great little short.  Yay me!

(If you are on Instagram, and would like to follow his Art postings, you can find him at hashtag_art.  He's pretty amazing, I must say.)

Today was but one battle in a longer war, but it was a victory and I shall take it, and make great speeches on the battlefield, and commemorate the day each year with much pomp and circumstance, and I will use it to embolden me for the days to come, the long hot days of summer.

The truth may set us free, but boredom shall make us create stuff.

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