An Earth Day failure
April 22, 2007 – 9:23 pmSo today is Earth Day. And I’m sorry to say that despite my visions of spending the day volunteering at a park, creating a worm compost bin, or performing other generally noble and altruistic activities, my actual day has been made up of 1) getting coffee at Starbucks, 2) driving from Bellingham to Seattle (definitely NOT an Earth-day official sanctioned activity), 3) blogging and 4) unpacking.
Well… maybe I’ll do something good for the planet next year.
But seriously, I do try my darnedest to incorporate responsible ways of thinking and acting into my and CJ’s daily life… the thinking being that it’s not so much what you do on Earth Day that counts, but more what you do with those other 364 days in the year.
But, like so many things, my best intentions fall short of my 3-year-old son’s overwhelming ability to confound and confuse his mother. Take this little interchange, for instance…
The setting: public restroom. Midday. CJ is madly pulling paper towels from the dispenser as if they’re going out of style.Me: CJ! No more paper towels! You have more than enough!
CJ: (continues pulling paper towels)
Me: STOP!!! (people pause to stare at the strange crazy woman shrieking in the bathroom)
(I grab CJ’s hands to stop the pillage)
Me: CJ, you only need to use one paper towel to dry your hands. When you take a whole bunch, it’s wasteful… and it’s bad for the Earth.
CJ: What’s the Earth?
Me: Um… well, it’s where we live.
CJ: Like our house?
Me: Well, sort of… but not really. It’s a big round ball…
(PAUSE)(Onlookers shake their head in disbelief at this round of bad mothering)
CJ: A ball?
Me: Never mind. Only… no more than one paper towel next time, OK?
CJ: Why?
Me: That’s just the rule. If you take more than one, you could get in trouble.
Lame, I know… but YOU go ahead and try to explain the concept of the Earth, solar system, conservation, and related he-is-not-the-center-of-the-universe concept to a 3 year old. It’s harder than you might think.
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For some worthwhile reading, check out Resources for Living Green.
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By tAnYeTTa on Apr 22, 2007 | Reply
That’s exactly how I would have explained it. :)
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By Mamma on Apr 23, 2007 | Reply
I picked up some trash. Does that count? Does it make up for all the driving I did? Yeah, I didn’t think so.
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By tulipmom on Apr 23, 2007 | Reply
We went to an Earth Day festival. Okay, so I bitched the whole way there about how the A/C in my car isn’t working and driving with the windows open when it’s 80 degrees outside is not my idea of fun. But at least I went to the event, right?
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By barbara on Apr 23, 2007 | Reply
Hi Jenny,
Poor me; I didn’t even know it was Earth Day… LOL. I guess that the celebration was not heavily meadiatised in France.Sunday was election day, so you can imagine that it has been politics, and more politics !!
Here, we recycle on a daily basis; that counts.
Take care,
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By Queen Heather on Apr 23, 2007 | Reply
Oh yes, those big questions are so fun to answer. Like when I was asked why we are on the earth? Uh, uh, uh.
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By Crunchy Carpets on Apr 23, 2007 | Reply
which reminds me …must buy more paper towels!
We too had plans for Earf day…but oh well
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By Brillig on Apr 23, 2007 | Reply
Oh, yes. I’ve HAD that conversation, I swear! Hahaha. And you’re right, if those ladies is the restroom thought they could do better, they’ve obviously never tried to explain such a thing to a three year old.
One thing that’s helped me a little in the persuit of Earth-awareness is a blog called Butfly Garden where every week she issues a “green challenge”. Just one per week. That speaks to me, because otherwise the whole concept seems so overwhelming for me. But since it’s just one at a time, I can probably incorporate it.
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By Shauna on Apr 23, 2007 | Reply
Yup. Those questions always creep up on you when you’re not expecting them. (well, when you’re expecting them, too. And you’re still not prepared for them).
I’ve been tempted to tell the women who stare, “wanna give it a try?”
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By MamaToo on May 1, 2007 | Reply
oh, I’m so glad to hear somebody else muddle through that conversation! I used to tell my son (also 3) that we need to “save water for the fishes” when washing hands, brushing teeth, etc. I thought it a good way to consider the good of fellow creatures, you know - empathy and all.
Except he answered, “But I don’t LIKE fish!”
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