Cable Schmable

Ryan had a crazy, and wild idea last night: Cancel the cable.

At first, I will admit, I was appalled. And the look I gave him read disgust, shock and "DON'T YOU DARE" as I imagined not being able to catch Bethenny Getting Married? that was set to start in ten minutes.

But slowly, as I pondered his blasphemous words, I gazed up in thought, and my look softened as Ryan calmly reminded me of our early days...


Six months had passed since our blind date, we were already in love. Ryan lived alone in the house we now call "home". But it looked very, very different than it does now. It was a true bachelor pad. No fridge, no lamps, no hand towels, no "home-y touches"-it was like a rustic bomb shelter. Just a roof over the head.

The bomb shelter house had no television and no cable. It was odd at first. But soon we began finding great ways to spend our time. Our evenings were spent taking walks around the neighborhood and occasionally to the local Thrifty for a cone, reading and playing endless games of cards on the front patio. It was awesome.

A few months later, we moved in together, and we got cable-it was an exciting day. Very exciting. DVR, free HBO for three months, and the ability to pause and rewind live TV? Crazy! We couldn't believe what we had been missing! And we loved every second.

But soon, as we piled on the couch together, once in awhile one of us would whisper about the good ole' days and the fun we had without TV and the other would pause, smile, nod in agreement, and then quickly pick up the remote to peruse the guide channel in search of something brilliant. Something that would convince us that life with TV was the only way. Sometimes we found it. Sometimes we didn't.

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We talked about our brave idea last night with excitement and brainstormed about all the things we will do with our new found freedom, all the while wondering if we were on the brink of a disastrous mistake. We reassured one another in our my moments of weakness. Ryan quickly reminded me of the card games we used to play, the joy of the Internet, and Red Box and I remembered (with mixed emotions) the cable at the gym. I wondered how we would fill the quiet. Maybe we will get a police scanner and start a neighborhood watch program for the 'hood. Maybe we will host weeknight garage sales. Perhaps take up scrap booking. Who knows? I soon realized...the possibilities are endless.

So after I am able to watch the hours of can't-miss-TV that I have stored on my DVR over the weekend, a call will be made to the cable company and our account will be cancelled suspended.

I wonder if we will make it. I hope we do. As you can see, I am skeptical. My husband? Confident.

Feel free to place your bets and wagers.