March 21st

I am not sure what has happened to the time since we cut the cable. Joe has been busy with his work which definitely makes our evening and morning routines busy. We also don't get much sleep still with little bit waking up crying at least once a night. Sometimes by 9:00 pm we are heading to bed pretty much exhausted.

I haven't kept up with the blog too well because after cutting the cable, I found myself wanting to disconnect altogether. I thought it would be quite the opposite. We hardly use the computer other than for work and Skype calls on the weekend.

In some ways no cable tv has been difficult because without that hypnotic distraction we have been facing unfinished projects around the house and delving into our finances. Yuck. A depressing thing to do considering the economy for the past few years! There are probably more fun things we could be doing, but this is the reality of our exiting lives! We have actually done lots of fun stuff too. We had a fun Valentines Day with our 22 month old, we have been to the zoo, saw Annie at a local play, went to a live children's music concert and tonight we listened to music and ate a nice dinner on the patio.

So all in all it has been a good move and long term it is helping us to tackle some things that we might have avoided with the distraction of tv. Even with tragic events like the tsunami in Japan, we avoid the temptation of becoming obsessed with news and watching tragedy repeatedly. We still keep a brief eye on the news through the internet, but it helps you keep things in perspective and focus your energy toward prayer and good wishes when bad news occurs.

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Inspiration

So far this no TV business has turned out to be a non-event.  We really don't miss it at all.  There have only been a few split seconds where I found myself sitting down on the couch and thinking, where's the remote?  The only downside is, that we have been quite busy and I haven't had as much time to sit and just relax the past few weeks.  The good thing is that we have been catching up on the more important things, like our daughter using the potty for the first time (big excitement in the house last night).

No TV has definitely been inspiring us in several ways.  Last Sunday we started thinking about some projects we needed to catch up on in the house and we had been talking about finishing our master bath remodel.  A few years ago we had the tile done and put new faucets in, but we never painted walls or upgraded cabinets.  So Sunday we felt inspired and found some paint colors we liked in a magazine.  The next thing you know, we were at Lowe's and we had a paint picked out to paint our bathroom cabinets.  We were very excited to finally be resuming efforts on sprucing up the place again - something that has definitely taken a back seat to the baby and the economy.  For $60 we found some paint, some cabinet fixtures and we have been sanding and painting all week. 

It now feels like we are actively participating in life instead of just watch TV and imaging projects being done.  It's really amazing how quickly that has changed.  By the way, who cares were the darn remote is! We are enjoying some inspiration and a little spontaneity once again!

Enjoying the Peace and Quiet

It's been over a week and since we unplugged our CABLE Box we sure are enjoying the quiet.  We really haven't felt the need to fill our time with anything else.  This last week we were already pretty busy with Joe's work and still recovering from recent colds spreading through the house. 

After putting our munchkin to bed, I enjoyed catching up on some reading (something I never used to enjoy as a pastime). I also found myself simply sitting quietly in the living room doing absolutely nothing.  The house was so quiet that all I could hear was the fridge running, and that was okay.  It felt so peaceful and so refreshing to simply unplug and not busy myself with anything else.  I had no desire to do anything but just sit and simply be.  After going back to school and having a child, I really haven't had this kind of time in about 4 years so it's a very welcome change.

I thought that TV was a way of slowing things down, but Joe and I have both talked this week and agreed that it was really not restful.  Now we are beginning to realize that we might be able to simplify our lives and maybe even slow down this hectic life that seems to be flying by so fast.  Maybe we have found one of the secrets to slowing down the clock.  I have felt more relaxed this week than I have in a long long time.

So far this is welcome change.  Peace my friends!

The Last Supper

Today is our last day of TV before we call the Cable company tomorrow.  Joe watched the Titans game today and then we packed up our cable box and remotes to take to Comcast tomorrow.  This week our baby has been sick and we have all been exhausted so we muddled through the week.  By yesterday we were so exhausted after we put her down for bed, that we watched DIY network until we passed out on the couch. 

I was kind of dreading today.  It's funny how when you know you're about to part with something, even though it was a self-imposed decision, you still get the last minute jitters.  It's a lot like buyers remorse. 

I stayed busy purposely not watching the TV today so that when we packed up the box, it would feel less noticeable.  That worked like a charm.  When we unplugged it and started putting everything the box, Sarah started throwing Christmas ornaments from the tree into the box.  I'm sure Comcast will appreciate a little post-Christmas cheer.

We usually didn't watch much TV while our daughter was awake anyway, except for football, so it didn't really seem any different at first.  After she went to bed, we got busy preparing for our week ahead and Joe started organizing the cupboard with too many mugs in it.  Goodwill will be thrilled tomorrow, and we've made our first step at decluttering.  I think we are off to an exciting start (yawn).  Is it time for bed yet?

Preparing To Disconnect

I'm thinking about the big day now.  We officially decided to disconnect the cable after the last regular season football game on Sunday.  I'm still a little apprehensive and nervous about the whole thing.  It's easy to say you're going to commit to something (or for my husband to say it), and then another thing to live it. 

I'm already trying to imagine what it will be like.  I'm basing this largely on our stint last year when we cut back to basic cable for several months.  I thought that was bad enough.  The channels I will miss most are HGTV, Food Network and TLC.  Then there are the endless football games I have watched over the last many years.  I have kind of grown to like football, maybe out of necessity because my husband is such a big fan.  Now I finally understand some of the play calling and the penalties.  I even know how many yards certain penalties are before the ref calls it out.  I won't miss the violent hits and all of the off-field activities that go on with the players. 

Yes I am apprehensive, but still committed.  This is happening.  I'd almost rather just stop watching TV now.  That's what I said on my way home to work, but then I found myself flipping between Kennedy Center Honors, the now famous Tuesday Night Football game, and TLC's What Not to Wear.  Somebody cut the umbilical cord, quick.  I never would have missed this when I was working and going back to school.

A Year Without Cable TV

My husband and I have decided to venture into 2011 without cable TV.  This has been an ongoing conversation for a while, but we both feel ready to dive into the great abyss.  No, we haven't gone crazy and we aren't finatics, we just want to see what life will end up looking like at the end of a year with no cable TV.  We aren't judging anyone else who watches TV or anything like that.  We don't want to lose friends over this; we simply want to do this for ourselves and see if we can detach from the Nicotine-addictive TV for a while.

We both realized that it has been addictive over the years and we've talked about it, joked about it, and probably even argued about it at times.  It does seem to suck us in to some sort of trance and rarely does a day go by that we don't turn it on.  It provides ambient noise when you're in the house doing chores; it gets you excited about the next big ball game; it helps you cheer in the New Year; it's a little companionship in the middle of the night when you can't sleep.  We have come to rely on it so much that we wondered what would we do without it for a year?  Develop some new hobbies?  Get off the couch? Catch up on some reading or journaling?  Rekindle some romance after 21 years of marriage?  What will we do?

If you want to walk along side us on this journey, follow our blog.  We promise to be honest and to keep it rated PG-13.  It might be a big adjustment because it has been such a ritual that we have come to rely on.  It should be interesting.  We'll see.  So stay tuned (sorry I couldn't help myself), and cheer us on.

Joe and Christy