No more TV

We finally did it; We took down our TV.

Here's why:

We have been discussing things that we do and don't want Liam to grow up with. Often, the things I am thinking I don't want him to have are because of general well being and health concerns. That train of thought always leads to my realization that if it is not good for Liam, it's really not good for me and Gabe, either.

Case in point: refined white sugar. I had no intention of getting Liam hooked on this, but we go through a lot of it. So, I stopped buying it altogether about 2 months ago. Instead, I use sucanat (dehydrated cane juice crystals), agave nectar, brown sugar (Gabe would mutiny if I rid the house of this...), and honey. The change has hardly been noticeable in my cooking, and we are all the better for it.

So, back to the TV. We all know the reasons it's bad. And we know the reasons we love it, too. Especially for movies. Gabe and I decided we can do without the movies every night, GMA and The View in the morning, and Grey's Anatomy (gulp...). The fact that I almost feel upset about missing out on my favorite shows reassures me that we really need to quit TV.

Last night was the first night without it. We put Liam to bed, pulled a hot fudge sundae cake out of the oven, and sat down with our desserts in the living room. Gabe, Linda, and I looked around at each other. Now what?

Here's the really pathetic thing: we couldn't think of anything to do. Linda says we're all pretty boring. Gabe was counting the minutes until 9, when he could just go to bed.

I assured them that we'll get better at this. We'll find things to do. We'll relearn how to spend a quality evening enjoying each other's company. We'll all be the better for it, but it might take a little while to start enjoying this.