Baby steps

So we've been cable-free for a week or so now, and I thought I'd take a moment to note some of the changes in life that I've begun to feel. I do want to say, for the record, that I'm not one who subscribes to the "TV is the root of all evil" genre of thought. I actually think it's an ideal medium for several forms of entertainment, but I think its channels are, for the most part, occupied with junk for 23.5 out of 24 hours a day, on average. That's my humble opinion, anyway. :)

But I digress. Anyway, here are some of the things I've noticed this week:

• I have so much more time! I now fully believe in the idea that when your average American complains about having "no time to breathe, let alone get anything done," the first question should be: how much is the TV on in your house? I don't think of myself as much of a TV junkie, but man, I didn't realize before how habitual my tendency was to turn on the TV after Maia's bedtime and during her naps.
  
• I feel less of an urge to go and buy stuff. I think that this feeling deserves some further digging, mainly because I really haven't seen TV commercials in 3-4 years (thanks to TiVo and its cohorts). So, it's not because of the ads. Here's what I think about this: so many of the networks that I used to peruse (Bravo, TLC, VH1, to name the usual suspects) often feature what I'll call "lifestyle" shows that delve into other people's homes, families, jobs, and lives. Not just famous people, but people like chefs and parents and gardeners and such. The shows aren't superficially about stuff to buy, but they sure do present their own pretty pictures of The American Dream (the one we currently feel crumbling to pieces all around us, and sometimes on top of us). In a way, they're more problematic than ads, because they're less obvious. The subliminal message is: "Look at this ordinary person's pretty kitchen. Hey, you don't have that kitchen, do you? That's just a regular person in her regular life, and she has that pretty kitchen. Hmmmm . . ."
• I do miss TV very much sometimes. I was so very interested in flipping on the TV after work last night, but it's just not an option now. We don't even have a disc fron Netflix that I'm interested in watching, so I just had to find something else to do. So, I read a couple chapters of my book, read last week's Newsweek, and played some Solitaire instead.

So, we substituted our dish account's monthly fee with a family membership to Ann Arbor's beautiful YMCA. Brian's already been a few times (swimming, on his own and with Maia), and I start my yoga class there on Thursday afternoon. This part of the whole puzzle addresses another "baby step" in our lives towards better physical health and better role modeling for Maia, but that's another topic entirely.