Thursday, April 22, 2010

A day for the Earth. Decreasing girth.


We watched the documentary, No Impact Man, a couple of weeks ago. I had zero expectations for it, and Paul had never heard of it at all. But let me tell you, it had an impact.

In case you were questioning whether we really do eat granola every morning, this post will confirm it for you.

We've decided to pull the plug on the TV.

Colin Beavan, the actual No Impact Man, embarked on a project that would allow his family to live in New York City without making any impact on the planet. In addition to sending their television away, they ate only locally-grown vegetarian foods, bought nothing for one year except food, and eventually cut off their electricity altogether. Through this process, they became more connected with each other as well as their friends and neighbors. At the end of their one-year experiment, Beavan and his wife, Michelle, are shown discussing the changes they'd like to continue. Among those -- vegetarian foods and no television. (And Michelle was a self-confessed reality show addict . . . hmmmmmm.)

Now, I'm not going to try to pretend this will be easy for me. Frankly, I'll probably still catch an episode or two of my beloved reality shows online. But, if I'm going to do this, I want to do it with a positive outlook. So I'm focusing not on what I'll be missing, but what we'll all be finding.

First, what a perfect time of year to do this. Spring is here, and summer is right around the corner. It'll be like the old days when you couldn't find anything on TV in July except Love Boat reruns.

We're looking forward to family walks after dinner. More conversations. More involvement. More cooking together. More interest in each other. More fun. I mean, when was the last time we dragged out a board game? Paul better brush up on his Scrabblin' skillz.

Yes, I may only be agreeing to this on a purely experimental basis, and reserving the right to pull the plug on pulling the plug so that I can re-institute reality TV in full force, but I have high hopes for its success. I believe this process can only bring our family closer. (And maybe closer to fitting into smaller pants?)

We definitely are trying to make a lot of positive changes around here. So, why not give this a try, too? I'll love it or I'll hate it. But I won't know unless we dive in.

We're officially calling it quits on Sunday, April 25. You know I'll keep you posted on my withdrawal symptoms. (Can I get Real Housewives updates here?)

How are you celebrating Earth Day?

Read a great review of No Impact Man, the documentary, here.

7 comments:

Mama Pea said...

I watched Food Inc. for the second time last night. This sounds right up my alley, although I'm not sure Pea Daddy would be up for it so soon. I might have to bake cookies first.

Curly Girl said...

When does the TV come back? Let me know, that might be the next time I visit..... :)

angela | the painted house said...

What an experiment for No Impact Man. The no electricity is just wow.

Good luck with the no TV! Easy for me--take away the computer, oh man. We whipped out the Yahtzee one night recently and had a few games before bed--hubby and I. It was fun.

Okay, need chocolate chip cookie recipe. Girl.

angela | the painted house said...

Okay, realized I have that cookbook on loan from a friend. Will try soon. Got my sea salt.

Beetnik Mama said...

Mama Pea -- Are you thinking of trying the movie or the no TV thing? The documentary is really easy to watch. But, yeah, cookies never hurt! (unless you're trying to lose weight.) ;-)

Stef -- It's a four month experiment. How 'bout bringing Apples to Apples next time you come? Charades? Candy Land?

Angela -- Let me know what you think of the cookies!

Megan said...

Thanks for the tip on this flick. I'm ordering it today!

Curly Girl said...

Ok, seriously, you need to consider holding off on removing the TV till the end of Housewives of NYC. Who else is going to share in my love / hate relationship with those crazy ladies?!?!