Now that you mention it, maybe should look for something better, cheaper...
No, it’s not that. It’s that after a while, you stop noticing how much better it is than what we had.
It’s true. It suddenly looks very normal.Exactly. It's no longer astonishing. Not after the first hour.
It sort of blends into the background.I hardly see the picture as large anymore.
Football – if we watched football, we’d notice the difference....But since we don’t watch football, we'll never fully appreciate its size.
The movie ends. The credits roll down the screen.
On the other hand, it sure is nice to be able to read these... (this from Ed.)
After Rosie, the TV (or my share of it) is by far the biggest purchase I am likely to indulge this year. But Rosie has proven herself. Rosie is dangerous, Rosie is fun. Rosie is useful. A larger TV is not dangerous and not useful. On the fun issue – initially, yes. But for how long?
Sunday. A drizzly day, a quiet day. Ed gets his beard trimmed, I tag along. For the promised cup of coffee at the café...
...and out of habit.
I should worry about my future, I say to Ed on the drive home. I should not spend money on a larger TV (or half of it; we split the $300 cost).
After, I finish cleaning the farmhouse. I hear Ed bringing in the cardboard box and disentangling the chords. Fitting the new TV into its original container. To be returned to Walmart’s later in the day.
I suppose the larger screen has come to stand for much more than what the TV really is. Ed, in his playfulness teases me about my wanting a bigger set when we are in the store. I walk away from these irrelevant displays depleted. I don't think it’s entirely an exchange about the set.
Sunday evening. The house is golden!
A warm home.
A couple of days ago, Ed and I filled out applications for credit cards. They're discontinuing our favorite 2% card, the one with no foreign transaction fees. On the address portion of the application I am asked: "Own? Rent? Other?"
I checked off “other.”
Hands down the best part of the day is when my older daughter comes home (whose home?) for dinner tonight with her boyfriend.
In my mind, my daughters are (blissfully) what we are not: unencumbered by past mistakes, free to buy (or not buy) a TV at Walmarts or elsewhere without giving it weighty emotional consideration.
