Those night shifts were designated me time. I would get the offspring into bed, turn off the tvs, grab my snuggie (yes, I have one of those and I love it - shut up) and read for the remainder of the night. When he was working, I would go to bed earlier than him and have another 30 mins or so of reading time. Now that we are on pretty much the same schedule all my habits are being jeopardized.
I started The Shadow Throne by Jennifer Nielsen last week. Now, this is the series to her Ascendance trilogy and a book that I have been looking forward to for months - I squealed when I opened the mail to find the ARC waiting for me. And yet, despite my love of this series and all things Jennifer N, it took me a week to finish. Not because I didn't enjoy it, but because my husband was there - ALL THE TIME.
Don't get me wrong, I love dear hubby and none of this is really his fault. He would never get upset at me if I preferred to read in another room to watching another hour or two of television with him - but I continue to fail to make that decision anyway. Perhaps it is the curse of the military wife - the husband has spent so much time away that I know what it is like to regret not taking advantage of the time we had together to, well, be together. I am constantly putting my reading down, so that I can watch yet another hour and a half long episode of Sherlock (not that the acting of Cumbersomethingsomething aren't equally stimulating).
I am finding this actually impacting my day to day living. I can't seem to fall asleep the way that I used to, and when I do, I find myself caught up in the most mundane of dreams - working at a sardine canning plant or sorting socks by size, color and approximate time worn. My memory is being impacted (see Cumbersomething comment above) and lazy (hence, not looking up the spelling of Benedict Cumbersomething's last name). Lazy days on the couch munching popcorn and staring at the boob tube have sapped my will to do anything productive and the pile of correcting on my desk is starting to reach avalanche warning size.
With this course lasting until April, I have got to find something to break the rut. So, I turn to you, dear reader, how do you escape the glowing lure of the television screen and the comforting warmth of someone to watch with?
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3 comments:
I read a lot of TV with my sister when our favorite shows are on, so yes my reading is affected, I tend to read less. However, I do read so much often throughout the day and everyday anyway so I don't feel sad that I don't get as much time as I usually do to read. And I'm sure your hubby appreciates the time you spend with him, right? :)
Make him wear some wireless headphones so he can listen to TV, then snuggle up next to him with your book. Reading, silence, *and* company! Or you wear the headphones with some white noise playing.
That is a very good point Whitley, but the TV is not nearly as loud as the Husband shouting as if Tom Brady can actually hear him!
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