When Spawnette of PavCo came home a few weeks ago with news of her latest school project, participating in Turn it Off Week, it was met with mixed reactions here at PavCo world headquarters. I was on board (I try to be as supportive as possible, especially if I don’t have to get off the couch), but Mrs. PavCo pointed out that, given her ongoing health issues, she couldn’t guarantee that she would be in a position to participate. That, and she just loves her some Judge Judy. The remainder of the Board of Directors, Spawn 1 and Spawn 2, issued eloquent dissertations on the hollowness of flashy but meaningless gestures and the increasing futility of “turning off” in the modern technological world. Alright. What they actually did is snort and say “Yeah, right.” But a CEO can dream.
So it’s me and Spawnette. No television or video games (console or computer-based) from midnight this morning through midnight on Sunday. We can (obviously) use the computer to blog, or read headlines. She has a limited number of school-related web sites that she can play certain games on, but other than that, no games or video.
I figured it would be a snap. Then I looked at the calendar and, more important, the tv schedule. The return of Robin Sparkles on How I Met Your Mother. The return of Lost on Thursday. The Pennsylvania primary fight tomorrow night. Despair flashed through me. However would I persevere?
Then I looked at the bright, upturned face of my youngest child, and knew that I could soldier on. If she could do it, I could do it. After all, we’re all in this together, all the generations. And we’ll get through it together. She will be my rock, my strength, my touchstone.
Actually, she’ll be the death of me; all she’s done so far is complain (when she wasn’t brooding on the swingset or helping the neighbors retrieve a wayward dog), and it hasn’t even been one full day yet. But you know what I said about the dreams of a CEO…
The 300 Project: 8/68
