Being a single parent all these years, I haven't had many opportunities to buy new 'stuff' for the boys and I.
I don't mean at times like birthdays, or Christmas. The kids have always gotten new presents for those occasions.
I'm talking about all our material goods, like furniture, was given to me by family and friends, or bought second hand. I haven't bought anything new in a very long time.
Except for the TV.
About five years ago, I took some of my tax return and bought us a new 42" flat screen RCA TV.
No, it wasn't a Sony, and it wasn't a SMART TV, but it was new, brand freakin' new, and it was a flatscreen, and it was all ours, and *I* bought it!
I was so happy with that TV.
And then it sat in a box for almost two years.
We were still in the old house when I bought it, and at that time, the basement was flooding on a regular basis, so I didn't want to put it down there.
The living room wasn't a great spot either because of the setup, and the fact it got SO much traffic, I was afraid of the TV getting broken.
So in a box it stayed, until we moved, and had a proper room to put it in.
OK, so it sat on a desk, (not a proper TV stand) once it was finally out of the box, but one thing at a time.
For years, I have babied that TV. My one prized possession.
Anytime the boys had friends over, and they were in the rec room, I was guaranteed to say, 'Be careful of the TV!'
And once they started getting rowdy, 'Stop screwing around near the TV. You know I'll be pissed if that gets broken!'
My fifth child. After the dog and cat, of course.
A few weeks ago, I invited a friend over to watch a new show I'd discovered. Animal Kingdom. Awesome show. If you liked SOA, check it out.
Both boys were in B.C. visiting their father, so it was going to be a girls night in front of the tube.
Because I was going to stream the show in the rec room, I grabbed the cable from my room, and went in behind the TV to hook it up first to the TV, then computer.
I put my hand on the side of the TV, and then, everything else happened in slow motion.
I pushed just a little too hard on the cable, I wasn't paying close enough attention to stabilizing the TV and before I could even understand what was happening ... IT WAS FALLING OVER!
Of course I screamed, and tried to grab it, only to watch it hit the bin below the desk.
My heart sank. Then broke.
My baby. Lying face down on a Rubbermaid bin. Broken off at the base.
My friend came running from the kitchen yelling, 'Are you OK?!', and found me just staring at the TV.
Devastated.
I came out from behind the desk with a, 'Yeah, but I'm not so sure about the TV.'
She and I picked it up, and set it back on it's base.
My broken heart skipped a beat.
It was fine!
A small scratch on the side, and covered in finger prints, but otherwise, FINE! OMIGOD! YES!!!
So i held my breath, and turned it on.
And that's when I saw ...
Annnnnndddd that's when my heart broke again. Shattered, like that screen.
Damn. I broke my baby.
At that point, there was nothing else to do but turn it off, and continue our night with a sip 'n bitch at the dining room table.
I broke our TV. I was going to have to get us a new one. Period.
The hard part, was going to be telling the boys.
That's their 'chill room', where they play xbox/watch movies when there's a group of them here, which is frequently.
Or at least, was frequently. Until I broke the TV.
I suck.
I decided not to say anything to them until they got home from B.C.
Why put a damper on their vacation?
But, the second one got home yesterday, so ... now, they know.
And now I can share with the world my bonehead moment, while at the same time, giving the boys a moment to bask in the glory of the fact that for all the years I harped on them to be so careful around the TV, *I'M* the one who ends up breaking it.
Ahhhh Ms. Karma. Ya know I love ya, but sometimes, you really ARE a Bitch.
K.
