Nanny’s interest in “going green” didn’t just extend to the green cemetery. Below, our adventures in reusable bags:

Today we are going grocery shopping. We have been on a reusable bag kick and I have purchased several black reusable bags from Kroger. But today, we are shopping at Publix. Nanny is nervous about going into Publix with my Kroger reusable bags.

“Don’t take those bags into Publix. They’ll get mad.”

I roll my eyes. “No, they won’t. Everyone’s going green. I promise you, they really don’t care whose bags they are, they’ll just be happy you brought your own.”

She is persistent. “We should buy Publix bags for when we shop at Publix.”

“I just bought eight bags from Kroger. We don’t need any more bags. I’m not buying any more bags just so we can have eight more of the exact same black bags with the Publix logo.”

She eyes my Kroger bags the entire time we’re in the store. I know she’s thinking about how to ditch me before we get to the checkout line. I keep a close eye on her.

At the checkout line, I send my bags down the conveyor belt, then load her groceries first. As the bags reach the cashier, she passes them back to the bagboy, who eyes them incredulously.

“KROGER bags? You brought KROGER bags into Publix?”

I close my eyes. Lord, you have got to be kidding me.

She is hopping mad, literally. She hops up from one foot to the other in front of the keypad where she’s in the process of entering her debit card information.

“She made me do it! I told her you weren’t allowed to bring Kroger bags into Publix! But she did it anyway!”

The bagboy, sensing a mischief-making opportunity, presses on.

“We have rules against bags from other grocery stores in here. Plus, you know, we sell that exact same bag right here at this cash register.”

She fixes me with the death stare, her mouth tight as she plucks five Publix reusable bags from their hook and hands them to the cashier.

I resist a temptation to yank the fake pen from the keypad and stick it through his ear.