Eco-Unfriendly
I'm generally a big fan of The Disney Channel on cable. Turn it on, plunk the kids down, and get a half hour of work done. The morning shows don't even have commercials on during them. But they really kill you with the few minutes of airtime after the show is over. As soon as "Tigger and Pooh" ends, a bevy of short, public service type ads roll out in front of your child's vacant eyes. Remember to exercise. Being nice is cool. Apples are the new ice cream. You get my drift. Apparently they are running a new blurb about being eco-friendly. I only know because I'm one of the victims of the ad.
Out of nowhere, my four year old Pixie has started following me around the apartment turning off light switches. "We need to save electricity, mom," she says. "No we don't," I respond.
Imagine I'm going to the kitchen to make her a sandwich. She follows me, turning off the lights behind me, and when I get to the kitchen she flicks on the switch so I can see the peanut butter deep in the cabinet. I reach for the peanut butter. Off goes the light.
"Are you done now," she asks?
"I haven't even gotten the bread yet."
"You need to hurry and finish. We need to save electricity."
"Honey, it's fine if I have the lights on in the kitchen. Please turn them back on."
"But we have to turn out the light to save the electricity!"
"No. We don't."
"But mo-om!"
And around and around we go. Living with her is like living in that dream where you can only see 10 feet in any direction and the rest is obscured in darkness. She truly believes that electricity is on the same level as the endangered panda or perms. How could I treat it so wastefully? Heaven help me if she ever learns about recycling.
She's in bed asleep now so I have the entire front of the house lit up like a Viking pyre. I can't help but revel in the hum of precious electricity as it comes to it's pointless doom in my light bulbs. Just goes to show, parents should spend more time passing down their vices and less time with the television on. I should have known better.
Out of nowhere, my four year old Pixie has started following me around the apartment turning off light switches. "We need to save electricity, mom," she says. "No we don't," I respond.
Imagine I'm going to the kitchen to make her a sandwich. She follows me, turning off the lights behind me, and when I get to the kitchen she flicks on the switch so I can see the peanut butter deep in the cabinet. I reach for the peanut butter. Off goes the light.
"Are you done now," she asks?
"I haven't even gotten the bread yet."
"You need to hurry and finish. We need to save electricity."
"Honey, it's fine if I have the lights on in the kitchen. Please turn them back on."
"But we have to turn out the light to save the electricity!"
"No. We don't."
"But mo-om!"
And around and around we go. Living with her is like living in that dream where you can only see 10 feet in any direction and the rest is obscured in darkness. She truly believes that electricity is on the same level as the endangered panda or perms. How could I treat it so wastefully? Heaven help me if she ever learns about recycling.
She's in bed asleep now so I have the entire front of the house lit up like a Viking pyre. I can't help but revel in the hum of precious electricity as it comes to it's pointless doom in my light bulbs. Just goes to show, parents should spend more time passing down their vices and less time with the television on. I should have known better.
Comments
oy.
sympathies.
Hey, at least she wasn't asking you to buy anything.
Explaining that technically spiders aren't bugs doesn't help.
You can imagine how Winter makes me feel, having lived most of my life on a tropical island (where of course, it didn't matter if all the lights were off, there was so much sunlight!).
I've been a lurker on your blog for a while. I'm missing your posts! Hope everything is ok.