Mother. And Earth.

The continuous theme in my writing is: "Hey guys, motherhood is really, really hard." I often feel that I am giving, serving, protecting, feeding, and nurturing my entire family ... because I am. And often, in my servitude I (sometimes resentfully, if I'm being honest) notice ... that nobody is taking care of ME. I give and give. They take and take. It's kind of exactly like Shel Silverstein's masterpiece, "The Giving Tree". (Duh)

I haven't written a lot about politics in awhile - and I'm still going to (mostly) dodge the subject. But I am going to talk about the Earth, and somehow or another, that's become political.

Earth. She's our home. Our shared mother. She gives, serves, protects, feeds, and nurtures all of us. And as she gives, we take and take and take. Somehow, returning her kindness with reciprocated care has become political in this modern era. Bonkers, eh? I know she's tired. Weary. Sore. Our chapters are quite similar these days. 

The wind left my sails after the election. Like a whole bunch of other Americans (At least a few million more ... Semantics. #fakenews) I was overwhelmed by how much there was to be outraged about. I was broken about the spike in hate crimes. Furious about the bathroom bills. Floored about women's rights. And then of course - deeply concerned about the utter lack of concern for our planet. All this, plus a slew of other outrage that came packaged with this new "leader".

I don't know about you, but when I'm overwhelmed, I go into shutdown mode. There was so much important concern being toppled on me, that I wanted to shut off the news and pretend it wasn't happening. (And fine. Maybe there have been stretches of time where I've had to do just that.) But that's when some great advice found me: hone in on one or maybe two issues. Pick a battle. Specialize. And team up with others, with differing specialties, and educate one another.

So I did.

My number one issue is, and will forever be: People ... Equality. Civil Rights. Civil Justice. Kindness. Black Lives Matter. Love Trumps Hate. Marriage Equality. Feminism. People. And while people matter the most to me ... I also realize my outreach is relatively small. Not that it doesn't count ... but my little ripple isn't the tsunami that these issues need/deserve. Plus, I can't control other people (lame!) ... so I picked something I could control. Something I could make a difference in ... queue: Mama Earth.

I've recycled for awhile, but I've taken it to new levels. I upped my recycling game so much that I had to order an additional recycling bin to accommodate. My trash company won't pick up glass, so I'm recycling that separately, and shuttling it to the recycling center. I've minimized my trash tremendously in the process! I've also started composting ... which feels ... amazing. It's my (other) baby, and I nurture the hell out of that stinky black bin. (I've yet to fully "cook" my first batch, but I'll get it there. Newbie and all.) I have transitioned to several new products to minimize waste. Metal straws. Glass food storage containers instead of plastic Tupperware. Bamboo toothbrushes. Beeswax fabric food wraps instead of plastic wrap. Reusable silicon bags versus Ziplocs. Reusable grocery bags. We use all LED lights and or house is high efficiency. We switched diaper brands ... to a company that uses sustainable materials. (Cloth diapering was vetoed by Johnny. But I tried, for the record.) I'm just now entering the world of eco friendly hygiene products, but give me a few months and I'm sure my home will be 99% green! And! We planted thousands (Seriously. Like ten pounds worth!) of wildflower seeds ... for the bees! I'm sure I'm forgetting something - but you get the idea. I'm trying ... really hard ... to make a difference. Even if it's just a small one.

It's a small resistance. But it feels great to fight our (literal) polluted politicians in such a positive way. You could even say it feels ... natural! (Sorry. Couldn't help myself!)

As a Mom ... I know the efforts are appreciated by Mother Earth, no matter how small. (An uninterrupted shower for me is nearly a spa excursion. It doesn't take much!) So yeah. Maybe it feels super grim that DJT pulled us out of the Paris Accord ... but ... he can't stop me from going green. And he can't stop you either ... 

Join me ... Mama needs your help, too!