Editor's Note: With this post we welcome Jessica Gottlieb to the writing team. Jessica writes out of Los Angeles, where she is a stay at home mother who grew up so crunchy, "so wildly earthy that I was stunned that they required shoes in Kindergarten." We're looking forward to hearing more of Jessica's unique 'shoot from the hip' writing style, as she seeks to raise her two children the right way in one of the U.S. of A.'s largest cities.

Should we buy a Prius?

I love teenagers. They are opinionated, stubborn, prone to wild mood swings, morally absolute and engaging. They are my kinda people. But, to be perfectly honest, that's probably only true because my children are not teenagers.

Last night at a dinner party my eight year old daughter was hanging out with the "big girls". In an attempt to keep any conversations rated G, I sat down to listen too.

There was all the usual talk about the other schools. Archer girls are boy crazy and more than a few are girl crazy but OhMyGoodness did you see that article about them in the LA Times and all their things!?

"Yeah", three high school girls all agreed that Archer girls were different than the rest of them, that they were conspicuous consumers and it was really disgusting. [blah blah blah], until they talked over each other fairly screeching about the abominable cars their mothers drove.

One of them could hardly get the words out, "It is so embarrassing that my mother drives a HUGE SUV."

"So honey, what should she do?" I asked (FYI, it's not a huge SUV, it's a Volvo and it gets pretty bad mileage but not as bad as some).

"Get a Prius like everyone else's mother."

And then there were long conversations about the dangers of a tiny Prius in a city like Los Angeles. And I humbly realized that they were repeating my words. You see I'm the perfect Prius driver. I go short distances in heavy traffic and then I wait. Oh, and when that's over I wait a little bit more. I'm unclear why every housewife in Los Angeles has to devote this much time to waiting, but we do. (Punchline, my next car will be hybrid but first this one's gotta die).

So, I'm listening to the girls and I was asking if it would be cooler to drive a brand new Prius or if there's some benefit in keeping a car a while.

"Prius!!" Came the chorus.

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"What happens to the old car?" I asked.

"Huh?"

"What do you do with the old car? It's perfectly fine, where does it go?"

And they all sorta stared at me.

"And how do you make a Prius?" (I'm on a roll here folks, these kids think I'm onto something).

"Well, there's steel and leather and plastic…" Sasha begins.

"Yeah, and how do they get the parts to the factory?" I query. Dang I'm good.

"Big Diesel Trucks!" yells Cary. Trust me, this kid is gonna be an activist.

And Sasha twirls her hair a little, spins around and declares. "I think my Mom should keep the Volvo for as long as she can."

"Yeah, it's all this stuff. It's not like I need something new every week." Agreed Cary.

I swooned, I literally swooned.

Because my daughter was clearly watching and listening to all this "adult" talk and I'd forgotten to explain to her that there are things I want, there are things within reach that I decide to forego because it's really all just more stuff.

I'm so pleased that today's teens feel both empowered and green. It gives my young one something to aspire to.

So when I need a new car (which will come several years after I'd enjoy a new car) it will likely be hybrid. And I'll be sure to discuss with my children the things I'm not purchasing in the interim.

Because this is the earth they'll inherit.

It's my unwrapped gift to them.