Thinking about it

I read half of "Not Buying It" last night before I fell asleep. I'm very, very intrigued. Some of it is right on target for me: my home is filled with stuff, stuff, and more stuff and I'm irritated by finding places to store it, ways to clean it, ways to feel less cluttered, etc. I do not need more stuff.

I'm also not ready to go absolutely crazy. The author (Judith Levine) had a rule where she wouldn't eat anything pre-made, and I don't really see the point. She and her partner would go to Chinatown and buy green buns (a dumpling with greens inside) and on the program, she refused to spend the $1 for her favorite treat because it was premade. I don't think that really served any purpose: it's a healthy, inexpensive item and I'm not giving that kind of thing up.

She also gave up theater, movies, movie rentals, concerts, etc. I think that this might defy some logic in my own life, as well. Those are the things I should be doing MORE of, not LESS of. I need LESS junk from Target, but the memories of a beautiful play last me a lifetime and inform my thinking. I'm looking for higher quality experiences, and less impact on the environment, not intellectual deprivation.

But I could eat out less. And I could do more books from the library, instead of buying them. Less impulse anything. Less money on coffee out (to remember why, did you see how many ways I have to make coffee in my house?!). Less eating out because I'm too lazy to cook, and more eating out for special moments. (Which equates to less eating out overall; I love resturant dinners but sometimes it's "well it's 6pm and I'm tired and I don't feel like cooking" and then it's easy to blow $30-50 on an unremarkable, unmemorable dinner.)

In other news...
Tessa LOVES her preschool. It costs more than we're used to paying but really, she loves it, and as a result, I'm loving it, too. She's learning vocabulary words, she's got a job (helping to put out snacks), she's learning all kinds of things about nature (last week it was about how spiders molt their skin, and humans shed skin too...they have a "pet" tarantula named Charlotte and Charlotte shed, and this led to the whole lesson). She is so ready to learn that she's desperate for someone to teach her, and school is going to be great.

Shep has a new friend. Our neighbor Becky, a block away, has a chocolate lab named Cooper, and we're exchanging playdates. Right now, Cooper and Shep are running around the back yard, tossing balls in the air, and (hopefully) wearing one another out.

And I have work to do - Ryan comes home tonight and I am determined to be able to say "Look, honey, no pile!" when he arrives. ("The pile" is of paperwork: resturant coupons, junk mail, correspondence, bills, magazines, preschool papers, medical paperwork....ugh. I hate the sight of it and I'm determined to make change! The pile grows overnight, I swear, and it's reached horrible proportions at this time. Every day, I vow to find a way to keep the pile away forever. We'll see if today is that day.)

We have committed to attending church, WSUU, until the new year, at which point we will reevaluate. So far, I think it's something that is going to be really great for our family. I really appreciate the opportunity to sit down and think about my life, to learn lessons, to remember how to be a better person. (I say remember because I think we all know, but need reminding.) I love this church because it has a philosophy similar to my own: it has a global stance, incorporating world religions and ideas; it's fairly liberal; it teaches that our actions are a better judge of our character than our words -it's easy to talk the talk, not to walk the walk; they have child education....many things that i admire.

I'm doing emotional, spiritual, and physical housecleaning. It is the beginning of the year, and I'm excited to make positive change.

Ryan will be home tonight, and I'm looking forward to seeing him. Absence DOES make the heart grow fonder, and I've missed him. It's not often he's gone for four days, and we'll be glad to have him home.