Okay, I get the irony here. I’m posting a video about us *not* watching television. But getting past that, you’ll see that we’ve made some good changes in the last 6 weeks:
Learning Spanish with lessons every night
More time to read
Increased exercise – mainly hiking and walking
More and better sleep at night
A busier social life
There are a few things we are worried about as we end summer and start moving into fall, which is the rainy season here in Seattle.
- Football has started, and Warren is a huge college fan. Where will he get his football fix?
- As the days get shorter, we will have less time to enjoy outdoors. Will we want cable back in January?
- How much will it impact us to not be “up” on the latest pop culture? Will we miss out on references and punch lines?
It is tough missing True Blood right now, though we can get it on Netflix next year. And of course Dexter starts soon…and he has a baby now! This is going to be a tough fall…
______________________________________________________________________________
Betsy Talbot writes about carving the lifestyle you want out of the life you already have. When she’s not writing, she’s paring down, saving up, and getting ready for a year of travel with her husband Warren.
About Betsy
Hi Betsy! I think I told you I published an article about my husband and I giving up cable for a year. We ended up going without it for 4 years and only turned it back on last year because we had home swappers and wanted them to be able to use it. Also, in the interest of full disclosure- we’re both political junkies and couldn’t imagine going without in an election year.
The good news is that all of the things you’ve discovered will likely keep you from turning it back on, even in the dead of winter. After plugging back in, we still only watch Jon Stewart and Steven Colbert and my husband turns on Fox now and then for 10 minutes to see what crazy talking points they’ve got going that day. We mainly use the television for viewing movies on Netflix, which I consider a completely different activity.
In terms of your specific concerns:
Football: Warren could watch the game from a friend’s house or at a bar. It would be more social and he could pick and choose, not necessarily watch every game.
Dark early: Really, 4pm? Ouch. Lots of time for reading, learning Spanish, listening to music, and taking care of your marriage. The options are endless- walking in the rain can be fun, cooking at home together, and it may sound corny, but listening to music, books on tape or a radio show you enjoy together can be really fun. Also, may I suggest “cocktail parties?” I’m going to start doing it this year- appetizers and drinks only, so not a big financial outlay, but a way to see friends. When I was little I couldn’t wait to grow up for so many reasons, and one of them was adult parties.
Pop culture references: It’s true you won’t be up on the latest stupid shows. I’m still not. When my friends are talking about some idiotic reality show, I feel a bit left out, but I’m so much happier with what I spend my time doing- reading, writing, watching movies made by professionals,etc.
I really didn’t mean to be so long-winded! Sorry!
Well, Warren can always come watch football here with me! And yes, I think you are really going to miss the “pop culture” advantage; I can always give you my leftover Entertainment Weekly magazines though…!
The first six weeks are the hardest and the rest is easy peasy. Giving something up can be so enlightening. Now, why did I have cable for so many years?
My family has been without tv for 16 months now – I love it and my kids are mostly ok with it.
Angela, I do love parties, so your idea of throwing more cocktail parties is a good one. And if I don’t get my guests’ pop culture references Karen can whip out an Entertainment Weekly to get me up to speed.
Kate, I admire you even more for doing this with kids!
Things really have been going pretty well; I’m just trying to be realistic about this and let you all know how I’m feeling. I hate it when someone starts a diet and says they never have a craving, or they start working out and love every minute of it.