Monday, February 22, 2010

Giving up Clean House

Once again it's Lent. I like Lent. We get help paying attention to our faith, the season is sprinkled with reminders about that, and we get to do something differently for 40 days. We are invited to give up something or take on something.

This year the choice was obvious. I had to stop watching Clean House and anything else on the Style channel. There's nothing much wrong with Clean House. I love looking into other people's chaotic rooms full of "mayhem and foolishness" and then, with a glance around my interior, getting to say, "Gee, I'm doing a good job here." But the ads on the Style channel have bothered me for some time--they are either lecturing me on how much better I could look or they're promoting new and improved morning-after pills for careless and confused young women.

So Niecy and her rescue crew had to go. Now, I know that come Wednesday evening, when I realize I could be watching a brand new episode (rather than the reruns they show the rest of the week), my husband will probably have to tie me down. Still, it didn't seem like enough sacrifice for Lent.

Then I heard a man on the radio say he was giving up DVDs for the season. He would spend that time reading and meditating instead. I'm not much good at meditating, but the reading part struck me. Every day I look at the books I mean to read, still sitting untouched, their covers firmly shut, and I think "where does the time go?" So I decided that, for a few weeks, I won't be stopping in at the library to pick up a half-dozen movies, most of which prove a disappointment anyway.

I'll let you know how it goes. Best wishes for a good Lenten season.
______
Photo of Niecy Nash from http://www.niecynash.com/clean-house/

No comments:

Post a Comment