Me and My Old TV

I didn’t get rid of it! I had someone who was willing to COME to my house and PAY me to take away a largish grey box of wires and glass and plastic. Just moving it was a problem and the thought of moving it again propelled me to something else far more pleasurable like…checking all the bottles in my refrigerator for an expiration date.

But when it was time to accept the money and let them shoulder the burden of how to get that piece of crap out of my sight, I paused. And let the opportunity slip away.

Me and my tv.

It’s an old Toshiba. We inherited from the previous owners and it worked fine, the bulky fin-like projector hidden in the depths of the bookcases. A floor model sale finally created a chance to replace it, but not before a greenish tint crept along the right hand side. I wanted my husband to have a nice television, one that he could enjoy from the comfort of his recliner. We were excited to experience the new technology making it possible to see every crease and crevice of Matt Lauer and Meredith Viera in the morning.

The old television had no place to go. When something is that hernia-endangered -heavy, you need to have a destination in mind before you start the trek. The easiest place was in a corner behind the recliner, where the carpet from the family room met the hard wood of the dinette. You really couldn’t see it from most angles, so it was fine. It also served as a secondary coffee table, and you could be less careless there with the coffee rings and cookie crumbs.

It sat there for some time. Every Saturday, I drove by the Salvation Army truck, the back open wide ready for me to insert the very large and cumbersome electronic. Could it even be called electronics anymore? I didn’t do it, but I thought about it. Every time. Thoughts without action. But each time I convinced myself I would picture the struggle of getting it there and every time I visualized it so strongly I convinced myself it was actually going to happen.

Rightfully so, my friend teased me about the television’s omnipresence after a few month (six). My husband seemed fine with the ribbing and didn’t think to take it personally (seriously?) but I felt shamed and disorganized. My stuff was getting the best of me. I waited until my husband was gone to avoid the impending argument (don’t scratch the floor Liz, well I wouldn’t have to scratch up the floor if you would just…) and enlisted my sons to help me to push, pull, lift it just around the wall in the study.

There is sat for two more months.

Me trying to sell my tv.

Part of making room had to involve this television, this symbol of old technology, this bit of relational dysfunction, this obvious crack in my organizational skills. I couldn’t move it to another room. My first step was to clean out the room (see blog). Part of cleaning out the room was to move it to the garage, to cover it with a sheet and focus on the room. I couldn’t forget tho. The next step was to take a picture of it, to put it on Craig’s List and Facebook. To attempt to make money from my stuff before I gave it away. Making room and accepting abundance.

No one took me up on it. They bought the “lighthouse picture” and the old dresser with one drawer that stuck. No offers for outdated electronics. Until one day, two weeks later when I received a request:

Hi,
Do you still have the Toshiba television? If so I will reply back with a
few questions, mainly about the diminsions of the case and hookups.
RandolI

I responded right away, thinking it best not to appear to excited.

Yes I do

And then I received a response, a very motivated and interested response.

Hi,
I need to check on measurements. The two most important are the overall          outside height and width, not the viewing screen size. It has to do with the          space it would be sitting in and I have limits on how big it can be. If you          could send me the full, outside measurements across and up and down it          would be appreciated. If the tv is sitting on something solid (table, couter,          hard floor with no carpet) I need the measurement from what it is sitting on          to the highest point on the top of the case. If the top is flat then it could be          measured anywhere. If it has a curve to it (like the tv we are going to          replace) then I need the height at the highest spot which would probably          be the middle if it has a curve. I also need the maximum width from outside          edges of the case. Is the 30 inches you show in the ad the diagonal screen          size? Does it have the red, white, yellow RCA style connections?
Thanks
Randol

All I needed to do was measure it properly. And the person was willing to take it away and pay ME.

So I did what any person who REALLY needed to get rid of a television does. I cleaned out the pantry. I connected with my friends. I wrote some copy for my website. I worked out. I went to bed early. I got BUSY.

What I didn’t do was measure the box and send the measurements. Not for a whole weekend. A few days later I finally sent the e-mail.

Hi! It doesn’t look like it has a curve- flat on top. So here’s what I got for          measurements. 23 inches from front (the screen) to the back (the projector).          34 1/2 inches wide (the width of the tv) and 30 inches tall. There is one set of          red white and yellow connections in the back.

He responded within a few hours. I eagerly opened the message.

Hi and thanks for the note and info. I did get a tv off of craigs list a couple of          days ago but appreciate you getting back to me.
Randol

Seriously? I had someone who was ready to take away this monstrosity and I didn’t take him up on it?
It’s still sitting there. I have big plans for it now. I’m going to take it to the Salvation Army truck on the last day of my challenge. I mean it! And then I’m going to celebrate that it has passed from my life.

Good bye , reminder of one thing I don’t like about my husband.

Good riddance, sign I don’t have it all together.

Sayonara, thing that I have tripped over every time I walked first in my family room, then my study and finally my garage.

Good bye.

I will not miss you.

Why do we stop short of what we know we should do.

1. Because it represents something you don’t like about yourself. It’s easier to walk by and pretend it’s not there than to deal with it. However, in the long run, it’s better to see the insights about yourself. First you love yourself for who you are. Then, you tell yourself you deserve the best life has to offer, no matter how imperfect you are. Finally, you do it!

 

1. We would rather think it’s the other guy’s responsibility and they should pay and do the right thing. We don’t want to be the go-to person in the situation. Look, it is exhausting to be the manager of the universe. Just manage your own universe and get it done. Put away the malice and enlist that person to help you. Then congratulate each other for working as a team, for a job well done and move on. Even better yet, together you can thank the THING for uniting you for a job well done.

 

1. Because it usually takes a bunch of little involved steps and we would rather jump to the good stuff. This is really MY issue. I have ADHD and we ADHD people always jump to the pretty shiny things! You will enjoy the shiny thing a lot more if you just deal with the big stupid irritating thing. Eventually you are going to have to do it anyway. Give yourself a day vacation from dealing with it and THEN go after it, clearing it away so you can be free to enjoy your NEW thing. Your abundance.

 

1. Because it’s hard. It’s not really so hard. What’s hard is avoiding it. Challenging are the retrospectives, the judgments, the resentments. Stop thinking it’s hard and breeze on by to DEALING.

 

1. Because we can’t see the end of the game. We can’t see how great it will be to have the space. We don’t believe we will make the money. I didn’t believe I would actually get any money for it. So when someone offered me the money, I acted like he wasn’t serious. Because I wasn’t serious. BELIEVE. Believe that if you do the right thing, good things will follow. Don’t worry about the likelihood. You really didn’t know the likelihood anyway.

Are you making room? Don’t let anything stand in the way of your abundance!