I am curbing the instinct to monitor my electricity
- Laura Moore: Housebroken
- August 26, 2018
- 1396
When our children were small, they weren’t happy unless every light in our house was burning brightly. As soon as the sun began to set, they began turning on lights.
Our son assured us the lights kept the ghosts away, and our daughters just wanted a nice, bright house to sit in and talk on the phone. Needless to say, our house loved lighting up the neighborhood.
Our next-door neighbor said we were like a beacon on the hill, shining brightly in the dark. Our electric bill was a blood-pressure riser.
When I was growing up, if my dad thought we were using too many lights, he just walked by and turned them off. When we complained, he would begin preaching about the cost of electricity, and we had to stand there and listen, so we didn’t complain more than once.
Dad was a country boy who grew up without electricity. Kerosene lanterns lit his way. When they ran out of kerosene, they used candles. My dad loved electricity; he just didn’t like paying too much for it.
Now we have a lamp on almost every flat surface in our house, plus can-lights in the ceiling and a chandelier in the dining room. When they are all turned on, this place absolutely glows.
I have taken upon myself my dad’s role of electricity monitor to little avail. My Taller Half claims he needs lots of light to see clearly enough to read, the dogs prefer lit rooms to dark, and to be honest, I need a bit more light to read than a few years ago.
Our first electric bill in this new place was a very pleasant surprise. It wasn’t through the roof; however, I had forgotten we had moved in a week or so into the new billing cycle.
The second bill was higher but not as high as in the last house. So I am curbing my electrical-monitoring instincts and enjoying living in a brightly lit house.
There are drawbacks though: Bright lights tend to reveal the dust that gathers upon dark surfaces, which embarrasses our house.
Oh well, to keep our house happy, we can turn the lights down low when we have company.