"Lighten Up Frances"

Tonight, I got home and my knee jerk reaction was to walk over to the cigar box that hides my TV remote control and kick off the weekend with a show as I get dinner going. I promply closed the lid of the cigar box leaving the remote untouched because Friday is still a weeknight.

No TV for this cowgirl since I decided to give up TV on weeknights (see post here).

I then started thinking about how I could listen to a music station on my satellite television. It's not TV but I can have some entertainment. I then worried, "What if the last channel that was on TV was a show and not a music channel? Would that mean that only after 2 nights I already screwed up my Lenten discipline?"

I quickly told myself, "Lighten up Frances" (fabulous quote from the comedy classic Stripes) and just got to my evening of dinner and chores. I'm having fun observing the sounds in my home. I'm also noticing the pattern of wanting to return to my sofa to turn on a show. I'm also noticing how I can't wait until the weekend so I can watch the shows have downloaded to my iPad.

Now I'm questioning myself about downloading the shows to my iPad for the weekend. Is that cheating? Am I slacking by not giving up TV all of Lent? Am I cheating recording all of my shows on my DVR? Is it cheating to be watching TV in the work lunch room while I'm getting coffee or heating my lunch or washing my dishes?

My final answer to all of this, "Lighten up Frances."