Greening My Mother

For Christmas this year my mom got my sister and I "green gifts." Because she knows Chelsea and I embrace the green movement fervently, this seemed to be her attempt to show that she pays attention to us when we talk. I don't blame her, most of the time my sister only talks about drinking with her friends and I am usually going on about how much I hate W and why living in DC is fun. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to imagine her zoning out every once and awhile.

But when she gave us our green gift, she made the point of saying this was her first foray into the green lifestyle. I spent the next few days looking around the house and realizing my mom has indeed not embraced the movement. And that is when I knew I had a project for the year. I've got other projects and things planned as well, but this one is of top priority, because I subscribe to the mantra that movements start from the ground up. And there is no better way to keep the green movement growing than by simply helping those closest to you embrace it as well.

My first task is a simple one ... get my mother to replace all her lightbulbs with the energy-saving compact fluorescents. As far as I could see, she didn't have a single one, and there are a lot of lights in our house. Completely unacceptable. Plus, for pete's sake, she works for General Electric, and they MAKE the damn bulbs. She can probably get them for free by stealing them out of a supply closet where all the pen, paper clips and notebooks are kept, for all I know.

So get ready, mom. Greening you is one of my projects for the year. Yes, I have no problem shaming you into change.