How to be a Hippie

OK people. I'll be honest. I'm suffering tonight because the Oscars are on and I can't watch them. Why not, you say? Well folks, it's because I went and cancelled the goddamn cable.
And why would I do something so incredibly anti-American? Well, because I had a real problem with the TV. Especially reality TV. If you put Bret Michaels, a posse of strippers, Dr. Drew, and Tyra in a blender and hit "puree" there you would have my fantasy show.
Before I had Ceci I watched an embarrassing amount of TV. Matthew and I went through a phase where we were parked next to one another on the couch, surfing channels and the Internet all night long.
I grew up watching TV. My parents both worked full time when I was a kid. Laverne and Shirley were my babysitters. And guess what? I turned out fine. I can read. I play nicely with others. I share. I make it through the day without behavior modifying medications ( I'm secretly very proud of this).
I cancelled cable because I like it too much. I can easily fall into a trance watching the tube and lose four or five hours at a time.
I started to worry, before Ceci came, that I was leading a digital life. I blogged. I facebooked. I watched TV. I spent a lot of time looking at screens, thinking about other people's lives, instead of living my own.
These days, we read cookbooks and novels and magazines. We clean. We cook. We talk. Sometimes we watch Netflix movies. Overall, I'm glad we watch less TV. I feel more awake.
There are a lot of anti- TV hippie enthusiasts in our town, and I'm not really a part of that camp yet. I'm bummed I'm missing the Oscars. But until I can control my intake, I'm going to avoid cable. No TV until I crave Masterpiece Theater instead of I Love Money. I naturally gravitate toward the tacky and the trashy, so that day may never come.
Anyway, tomorrow I will re-attempt the Pavlova cake. Wish me luck!

Ceci feigning interest in a toy.