The kids love to go to the local roller skating rink.

The reason is not because they’re so interested in skating. It’s like why they ask to go to McDonalds. They want a toy.

The big draw at the roller skating rink is glowsticks. Forget all the fun of skating with your friends for a couple of hours. If you can get a glowstick and swing it around in the dark for a while, that beats all.

The last time we returned with glowsticks, the kids couldn’t wait until it was dark enough to turn off the lights and see the sticks glow. When the time came, we turned off the lights, and activated the glowsticks. The kids danced and spun the glowsticks and worked up a real sweat. They loved their glowsticks.

It eventually became bedtime, and when we told them so, Aaron told his big sister, “Hurry! Turn on the light so they don’t run out!”

It nearly broke our hearts to explain to him that that’s not how glowsticks work. Turning on the lights does not conserve glowstick energy.