by Tao Oliveto, Carrboro, NC

So, as a part-time stepmom (or S’mom as I’m referred to), I don’t always realize all the privileges of parenthood. But, I try when possible to be a positive influence on a 13yo life. For instance, it took a couple years, but Shay and I are now practicing yoga together and I’m utterly convinced that yoga was made for 13yo bodies and the minds that will soon follow.

I admit there is one thing I’ve been a bit nagging about and that is the idea of keeping a neat bedroom. I don’t mean picture-perfect, just, you know, loosely organized. I’ve been trying to convince him that it would feel really good, but you can guess how that went over. Organization has not been one of Shay’s talents (though he has other valuable ones, like drumming and skateboarding), so it’s been a losing battle on my end. The other day, I got a little crazy and did a clean sweep through the clutter, putting everything in bags. Not a cool Smom thing, I know, but I simply lost it that day. Since then, we have gone through stuff together and put some method to the madness.

My reward came the next evening, and I admit it still resonates sweetly in my ears, when he said, “I fold, Smom.” When I asked just what he meant, he finished, “It feels good having a clean room.”

This was a long thread, but I hope I can make a point about our world and the changes we HAVE TO MAKE NOW. The future of our planet will not be determined by decreasing our MPGs, changing a lightbulb or ‘letting it mellow’. We will have to change the way we think and perceive our lives within and outside the economy. We have to do a clean sweep.

If we could only be convinced that these changes will make us feel really, really good and return us to a more authentic and happy way of life. Perhaps then, we will be willing to move ahead with the big stuff.

What are we waiting for and how long before we have the humility to say, “I fold.”?

ps. My pseudo chip off the old block stepkid has just created a blog of his own. Check him out at PhatBeatsintheNight.blogspot.com

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 3rd, 2008 at 3:49 pm and is filed under activism. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.