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“What if every tow truck ran out of gas?”
“How do bodies get to heaven after they’ve been buried?”
“‘Si usted está contento y usted sabe que aplaudas! That means, ‘If you’re happy and you know it clap you hands!”
It’s not unusual for a period of 15 minutes with Squirts to follow this or some similar line of conversation. Sometimes, it’s like trying to chase popcorn. Just when you think you know where a topic is headed…pop, we’re off in another direction.
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I’m a wannabe environmentalist. Humanity has put a huge strain on the earth and it’s up to us to revise our way of life to repair and prevent future damage. But if I’m completely honest, I don’t really do my fair share. Yes, we recycle more than we throw away. We adjust our thermostats so we’re cold in the winter and hot in the summer. And I don’t run the water while I brush my teeth.
But, I don’t always remember to take my reusable mug to Starbucks. I commute in my car, by myself more than 30 minutes to work every day. I love the personal-sized package of Oreo cookies. And as a parent, there are some moments I believe even the most ardent, earth-loving, card-carrying environmentalist would buckle to ozone burning temptation. Here are a few temptations to which I’ve fallen prey:
Usually Squirts is a sponge. He hears every word, every conversation, every phrase spoken around him, soaking it in with little response or reaction. Then one day, BAM, he’ll add the words or phrases to his four-year-old vocabulary.
On one particular day last week though, the topic of conversation was too important for him to remain a quiet bystander: San Francisco’s ban on McDonald’s Happy Meals.
As he overheard me commenting on the city’s pending new law, he looked up from his row of Hot Wheels and asked, “What about Happy Meals?”
As I enter the door to pick up Squirts from “school,” I find him playing in the large gathering room with other kids. He looks up, smiles and runs to give me a hug. All smiles and laughs today.
Before we head home, I say we should check his folder in his class for any important notes from his teacher. As sure as we forget to check the all-important folder, we’ll miss the message telling us every child should bring a lunch or our enrollment fee is doubling.
Squirts stops smiling.
“OK,” he says, “but don’t look at the board.”
