An Aside About Adulthood

This is a bit of a departure from my usual posts about books, movies, or nerd-girl related things such as time-travel and sub-atomic particles. Though I don't want to get political, I think most of us agree these days that the big banks are crooks. In November there was an call to pull out of the big banks and to open our accounts in independent banks or credit unions. I didn't because I've got like 5 accounts with Chase including credit cards, mutual funds, etc, but believe me, I wanted to and am looking for the opportunity to do it, though it will be complicated.

My son, however, in the face of all the environmental and financial atrocities that J.P, Morgan Chase has committed, decided to pull out. He went there, closed his accounts and mutual fund, citing Chase's former involvement in mountaintop removal in West Virginia as one of the primary reasons. They were baffled. He told them to google it. No amount of inconvenience over fewer ATMs would dissuade him. And when he came home and repeated to me the diatribe he gave them about how "convenience" is destroying the planet, I was so proud I could burst.

The last few days we've been dithering around about what to do with the huge amount of syrofoam peanuts that UPS packed an item in that was delivered to us. I asked my son to throw them out after I couldn't find a place that would recycle them, but he just couldn't. He said that every time he looked at one of those "peanuts" he imagined it lasting longer than any of us would. So I bagged them and stuck them in the shed until we figure out how to recycle them. What a remarkable process it is to watch your kids become adults - good ones, conscientious ones. Adults who are willing to take braver steps than even you're willing to take. I'm in awe.