One of the great clichés of growing older is that you find yourself acting more and more like your parents in words and deeds. One area where I’ve come to notice this of late is how one of my prime missions as a father has been to patrol the house turning off lights left on by one of the children. It’s a duty that invokes mixed feelings as the satisfaction felt by stopping the needless lighting of a room is matched by frustration at having to undertake such a task in the first place: is it really that hard to flip the switch as you leave the room? For about the 784th time since having kids, I find myself saying “Now, I know why Dad was always doing that.”
So with Father’s Day right around the corner (still time to jump on that unlimited beer for life boys) I thought I’d offer encouragement to all the dads out there who share my lights out zeal.
(with apologies to Dylan Thomas)
Do not relent in fighting the good fight,
Old dad should burn & rave at lights that on stay;
Rage, rage against the wasting of the light.
