It was Saturday. I had to take the dog out for a walk. My youngest was with his dad and the older two were watching a show. I was just going to walk around the block so I figured I'd leave them peacefully on the couches -- they were both wiped out after soccer on a cold rainy morning. Dog is slow and walking him can be painful. What was more painful was when I got home and the boys began trying to out-tattle each other about who broke the TV. Apparently they were throwing Jenga blocks (those blocks have never been used for anything other than building and throwing, and each time I get close to collecting them all so I can donate the complete set to the goodwill bin at the supermarket, they get dumped out and redistributed. (It happened twice during the TV breaking weekend, when a ceramic piggy bank was also broken.).
I told the boys I didn't really care who threw the actual block that broke the TV. (The glass was not shattered, the picture is just ruined). Since they were both throwing them they are both responsible. I think they were surprised that I didn't yell at them. But I was exhausted after having to hold their freezing an unhappy brother for nearly an hour and a half at soccer, and then whatever else happened between that and the dog walking -- oh, right, my oldest's baseball practice at the batting cages and my trip to the supermarket to prepare for the dinner party I was planning for them and their friends that night (I was fuming and I really wanted to cancel their dinner party, but didn't want to punish their friends), complete with egg coloring and decorate your own cupcake -- I just told them "oh, well, I guess that will be the TV you watch for the next five years."
I rarely watch TV in the living room so it doesn't have to be my problem. The bummer is, it was a brand new flat screen TV that we got at Christmas time. A couple of my friends asked if it was under warranty. Duh, I don't think the warranty would cover user errors like Jenga negligence.
The good news is, the kids are watching less TV and are actually spending time in the basement (with their X-Box!)
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