Lenten Vow Comes to an End
Robin and I gave up dining out for Lent, and I have really enjoyed it. Eating at home has been nice, and we have saved money, saved time, and lost a little weight.
What surprised me over the past 40 days (not counting Sundays) is how shocked other people were to learn that we had done this, sometimes shocked to a point that resembled defensiveness or even anger, especially when we said that it included food bought as take-away or at a drive-through and eaten at home. People said, 'how can you stand it,' or even 'how can you do that!' Of course, most of those were relatives who eat out (or eat take-away) often (probably too much), so I suspect they felt some kind of unstated criticism of an important part of their lives in our decision to avoid eating away from home.
I got similar responses in the days when I did not watch any television, and I have provoked annoyance from people when I have spoken ill of the wide-spread use of mobile phones (particularly text messages) or of the habit of everyone driving everywhere--I would love a good public transportation system in Johnson City, but I don't think the buses run anywhere near my house, and if they do, it is only once an hour.
One of my professors at Milligan once said that when you criticise television (which I often do) you upset a lot of people because you are making fun of their mother.
What surprised me over the past 40 days (not counting Sundays) is how shocked other people were to learn that we had done this, sometimes shocked to a point that resembled defensiveness or even anger, especially when we said that it included food bought as take-away or at a drive-through and eaten at home. People said, 'how can you stand it,' or even 'how can you do that!' Of course, most of those were relatives who eat out (or eat take-away) often (probably too much), so I suspect they felt some kind of unstated criticism of an important part of their lives in our decision to avoid eating away from home.
I got similar responses in the days when I did not watch any television, and I have provoked annoyance from people when I have spoken ill of the wide-spread use of mobile phones (particularly text messages) or of the habit of everyone driving everywhere--I would love a good public transportation system in Johnson City, but I don't think the buses run anywhere near my house, and if they do, it is only once an hour.
One of my professors at Milligan once said that when you criticise television (which I often do) you upset a lot of people because you are making fun of their mother.