There are times when I wish I had the knowledge I have now, back when I was starting my family. It seems that parents are so much more informed environmentally than they were even 13 years ago when I had my first child. There was no internet when I had my son. What I learned was from books I read or people I talked to. There was no emphasis on cloth diapers or BPA issues. It’s wonderful to see parents of young children and babies making the conscious effort to teach their kids from the start how to live “green”. These children will grow up understanding that our earth is precious and worth saving from the beginning.
Category Archives: Green Thoughts
Am I Green Enough?
#8DCB41, #7A7700, #1D3403…No, I’m not speaking Klingon nor are these words from a lost episode of Seinfeld. These are hexadecimal values or “hex colors” and they are all shades of green. Jennifer K. and her husband are olive and after reading Sommer’s post, I felt compelled to share a little bit more about me. I guess, to confess.
When I was asked to participate as a writer at 5M4GG, I was honored and then a little concerned because going green is still somewhat new to me. I was never a fan of the color green. I was a Brownie, but never became a Girl Scout.
Jolly Green Hypocrite
I’m calling myself this today. When it comes to going “green”, having a green website, being recognized locally for my efforts and just being noticed more for going green in my small town…I sometimes feel the pressure. For example, I had coffee the other day with a family member and as we drank “organic” coffee I added sweet and low to my drink. She seemed surprised and called me out on this. “How can you be green and natural and use man made sugar?”, she said. Good point. Except, I went through weight watchers and lost a ton of weight and became addicted to diet soda and sweet and low because of the “0” points.
Going Green For The Health of It
Although we lived in the city, I grew up in a pretty simple family compared to many of our neighbors and friends. There was no microwave, dishwasher or cable television in our home. No packaged cereals, boxed juice or single serving lunch snacks for school.
We grew and made nearly all our own food. My father was trained in horticulture and he studied bio-dynamic and organic farming in his spare time. He put all his knowledge to work on our gigantic family garden. I can’t tell you how many times I cringed at the sight of another soggy sprouts, cucumber and tomato sandwich in my elementary school lunch!
Olive
My husband Andy has a wonderful saying when people ask us about our journey towards a green lifestyle in Chicago. He says ” We are olive. Not quite green but getting there.” It feels like there is so much to learn and frankly, so much to unlearn that it can be overwhelming. It isn’t about where I am in the process, but that I am in the process of making changes both big and small. I find my biggest lessons come from the messages I share with my kids. “Focus on the effort you give something not the end result” I suggest to them.
