The living room in my parent’s home consisted of a piano, an organ, a sofa, a loveseat, a rocking chair, several end tables, a large record player (shorter than the organ but otherwise the same size), and a recliner.

There was no television.

As a child, this was embarrassing. My friends had seen all of the Disney movies and cartoon shows that I hadn’t been able to watch. Once, when my parents were out of town, my aunt and uncle were babysitting me and they let me watch Beauty and the Beast. I reveled in being able to watch my very first Disney movie…until it got to the part where the last rose petal falls and there’s lightening and thundering and I was terrified of the beast. I cried and cried until my aunt and uncle called my parents. My mom had to calm me down over the phone before I would go to bed, still hiccupping from my sobs. I never saw the end of the movie.

Sometime when I was in my pre-teens, my parents decided that it would be okay to buy an old, yellowing 13-inch computer monitor and attach a VCR player to it for us to watch parent-approved movies. Those movies consisted of Feature Films for Families and home videos. So as not to make the “tv” the center of the living room, they positioned the computer monitor and apparatus in the corner of the living room behind a fake tree/plant. That, combined with the sheer itty-bitty screen size, meant that in order to watch a movie, I had to lie on the floor in the corner of the living room about 10 inches away from the screen and anyone walking into the room would trip over my legs.

My sister, Megan, snuck a movie from library one day. It was Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. She knew mom was busy so she snuck into the living room to watch it. She wasn’t going to let me watch it with her, but my threats of tattling convinced her to let me in on it with the stipulation that I had to promise never to tell. (Until now.) Since we were sneaking, she turned the volume so low that we had to alternate between watching the screen and leaning our ear up to the in-monitor speakers to hear it.

I felt so cool watching a secular movie. I mean, this was the epitome of being a bad kid. However, I had another Beauty and the Beast moment when the kids in the movie got locked in the back of that prison-barred vehicle. I started crying. To save herself, Megan turned off the movie and dragged me upstairs so that Mom wouldn’t hear me crying. Once I was calm, she finished the movie while I stayed in my bedroom, terrified of this secular movie that God was clearly punishing me for watching.

To this day, I’m too scared to finish seeing either of those movies.

In many ways, my childhood was so much better because of the lack of video games, television, and movies. It was embarrassing, yes, and for many of my teenage years, I hated that I couldn’t relate to my friends and all of the shows they had been able to watch. Yet, now that I am an adult and may someday have children of my own, I realize how wonderful it was so grow up learning how to use my imagination and cultivate creativity. I can honestly say that I was never bored as a kid.

What did I do, you ask? Well, let me show you.

I drew pictures of aliens. And I was proud enough that Mom wasted film to take photos of these creatures. Also, I obviously did not use my television-free time to maintain my hair.

I made little colorful villages out of homemade play dough.

I read books; lots of books. With huge bows in my hair. A lady must always be properly dressed to read a book.

I had the best fashion sense ever. Oh, and I also carried huge icicles around the house. That is not weird, right?

I gave up my title of the baby of the family when Jordan invaded and took over. Can you tell by my face how excited I was about him? Actually, he doesn't look too pleased either.

I flashed everyone on Highway 22 as I madly pedaled my tricycle back and forth.

I learned early on how to style people for portraits. Glamour shots, baby.

I protected my friends from death. Notice how I am tightly holding Lindsay's hand to ensure she does not fall in the fish pond and drown. She's tempting fate.

I learned from a very young age how to bake and cook. This came in handy later on when I learned that prospective men could be swooned with a homemade meal.

I’ve now become accustomed to having a television, cable, DVR, and a library of movies. But sometimes it’s nice to turn it off and just glory in the silence, the sounds of rain falling or birds singing, to use my hands to create, to think instead of being entertained. I still bake and cook and I am still protective of my friends. Thank goodness, I’ve learned how to dress and comb my hair and keep my legs together if I’m in a dress, but my drawing skills remain pretty much the same.

As for those glamour shots, we can totally bring those back in style, right?