Welcome to Greening My Family
I’m a communicator by profession, but I have never so much as posted on a message board. Don’t get my wrong, I consider myself completely internet savvy — I’ve just never had the desire to express myself online. But I’ve decided to start.
Going green, of course, is the hot thing to do in 2008. I think I’ve been fairly conscientious over the years: recycling since college (too many years ago); switching to compact fluorescent bulbs when they began popping up on store shelves; driving the same four-door car year after year despite carting around a growing family…
It’s that growing family part that’s really raised my consciousness. My husband and I have two beautiful young daughters. They are the ones who have unknowingly turned me into an eco-alarmist. What are we doing to our planet? What are we exposing our children to? Dependency on oil, mercury in fish, lead paint in toys, pharmaceuticals in tap water. I mean, I don’t want to succumb to worrying about every little thing but WHAT ARE WE DOING TO OURSELVES?
I remember having a casual conversation five years ago with my coworkers when I still worked on Capitol Hill. I was wondering what kind of “see the light” moment our generation might have years in the future. Like when you hear older people say, “Of course we smoked, no one knew it was bad for you back then.” And I likened it to the seemingly absurd possibility that we would find out someday that something like green peas were toxic. We would say to our grandchildren, “Of course they’re poison, but back at the turn of the 21st century we just didn’t know any better. Why your mother’s favorite dinner was mac and cheese and peas!” The grandchild’s classic reaction: “Well, duh!”
I feel like I’m having those “duh” moments regularly. So I’m trying to make smart changes and raise my girls in the healthiest, safest environment possible. I thought it would be interesting to chronicle it. The whole reason to post this online is to have others read it — so please let me know your thoughts on what I’m doing, as well as your personal experiences on going green. It’s time to start Greening My Family!
