Life Without TV

We are successfully getting water out to the cows with hoses. This is a big improvement over carrying buckets. And with the new stock tank, we only have to fill it every few days instead of twice a day.

When my husband and daughter were filling the water it was just above freezing and overcast.  My husband was dressed appropriately but our daughter's internal combustion must have been working well.  Not only was she wearing only a tank top and skort, but she swung her arms around as she waited.  I remember the days when I could have pulled that off.

Most every evening we pause for reading aloud.  My 9-year old's are studying early American history and we just finished Johnny Tremain.  While I read they take turns churning the butter.

With our evenings full of reading, butter churning, and milking, we haven't watched TV in over a year.  When people hear all that we do on our little homestead, they wonder how we fit it all in.  Freeing up those several hours a day the average person dedicates to TV makes it easy. 

Only a few years ago I was a high-functioning TV addict.  I watched regularly but I still held a job. I couldn't imagine going a few days, let alone a week without TV.  Now that I'm fully detoxed, I have to admit that I don't miss it much.  In fact, I don't miss it at all.  I have time for good novels, for cooking great food, and for doing things with my children.  I'm a little embarrassed to remember those hours of stillness, letting my consciousness be lead around by commercial interests. We still watch movies, but commercial-driven TV is a thing of the past.