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COLUMN – Jots by Jess: “Tangled up in TV tragedy”

By Jessica Tanner - January 21, 2021

My little girl is obsessed with the Disney movie “Tangled” and wanders the house in her Rapunzel dress equipped with a toy frying pan. For the most part this is absolutely adorable, but recently she struck up tragedy, quite literally, testing out her frying pan swinging skills on our new TV while watching “Tangled.”

Now I realize this is a materialistic thing—something that can be replaced and is not really a tragedy at all. But the truth is it has been heartbreaking, and I spent a couple days crying every time I looked at the TV.

We made the decision to indulge on a big, fancy TV for Christmas so my boys could play their games and watch shows in the highest of fashions. Over the month of ownership, we have gained so much joy from this electronic. Mario Kart is the best with four players on a bigger screen. So, I felt it fitting to mourn the loss of our perfect TV and come to grips with the reality that nothing can be done.

After hours on the phone with customer service and different businesses, they suggested having it fixed. Although they were helpful that total is more than the TV cost, making that route a no-go. The only options we really have are to buy another one or enjoy the TV we have, flaws and all.

I have decided to find the silver lining and focus on the good instead of the bad. At least when the TV is shut off you can’t see the damage.

Yes, I might still cringe and think of how I could have prevented this when I look at our TV, but I hope that one day I can look past that. I hope instead of thinking about the damage brought on by our little TV breaker that I will only smile and see our amazing little girl.

Wakelee is definitely living her best life as a terrible two toddler and is going to give us a run for our money, but we love her so much. She’s adventurous, tough and creative, and always knows how to make us smile. Once she has outgrown the dresses and Disney shows, which hopefully she never will, I will have that little spider like crack in my TV to remind me of her and this beautiful stage of life we are in.

Motherhood is hard and it leaves more scars than we can see, but it’s all worth it—we just have to be willing to see the silver lining in tough times.

Through this experience I learned about being patient and kind. I saw my boys quickly forgive their sister and look past the flaw way more easily than I could. They gave me comfort and told me it still is “the greatest TV ever.” It also helped me focused on the most important things in our lives and how blessed we truly are.

However, my mind did drift to Disney. I wonder if I could reach out to them seeing as Rapunzel is the true culprit here. Maybe I could have them fix our little princess’ mistake or at least offer up Disney tickets to meet Rapunzel and tell her the story in person. I know that is wishful thinking, but who knows, just looking for the good.

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