When I was a kid we didn’t have an Earth Day. Although, I suppose if we had it back then, we might not need it today.
I didn’t know anything about recycling until I was in high school, and then it was just the crazy neighbors down the street who recycled soda cans to make some extra cash. In college I started using the scratchy recycled paper tissues and cleaning my dorm with vinegar and lemon. Thankfully, being earth-friendly has become a lot more user-friendly, so much so that there’s really no good reason not to do it.
Try explaining that to a four year old.
My kid loves to turn the hose on in the afternoon on a hot day and just let it run, spay the dog, wash her swingset, you know, basically burn though Southern California’s scarce and precious water. Oh, and she loves to grab as many paper towels as humanly possible to clean up the tiniest of spills. This might shock you, but saying: “Sweetie, California is experiencing a drought,” or “Honey, think of the trees,” doesn’t work like a charm.
So how do you get even the youngest kid on board with living responsibly? Not sure I know the answer, but I’ll tell you what works for me.
Teach your child to live responsibly in all aspects of her life. First and foremost that means taking care of herself: things like brushing her teeth, dressing herself, and getting herself a snack. Then teach her to take care of others: feeding the dog and cat, making birthday cards for friends. Taking care of others requires respect and compassion, and if you can treat a friend with respect and compassion, you can do the same for the world around you.
Give your child the tools they need to directly impact their little world in positive ways. Before you know it, they’ll grow out of their little world and be smack dab in the great big world. If we all raised mindful, responsible kids, think about what Earth Day could look like 30 years from now. Maybe we wouldn’t even need an Earth Day in 30 years. I doubt that could happen, but a girl can dream….
Its so funny Kellie on the other end of the stick as a mom of 4, I hear things like: aren’t you done yet? Are you pregnant again? Hahaha. You are so right in saying a family is not about numbers, it is about the love shared between the people involved. If there are just the three of you, wonderful, If there happens to be more that is wonderful as well. Enjoy and treasure each moment because each one as precious. Oh and for the record, we pretty much don’t refer to the kids as numbers. (I think my older son would resent being called number two…hehehe)
I have one child. One beautiful, precocious, impulsive, energetic child. She’s a lot, and for now she’s enough for me—all I can handle. I cannot tell you how many people (daily!) ask me, with a gleeful glint in their eye: “When are you having number two?” Through slightly gritted teeth I’ve perfected my response: “We’ll see… you never know.” Cue the tight-lipped smile from me and satisfied nod from the total stranger asking me this inappropriate and terribly personal question.
Where is it written that one must have this so-called “number two”? And why must we refer the second bundle of joy as “number two”? One, two, five or seven does not a family make. A family is a family, and there are many ways to have a family. I felt like a family when I married my husband. We were a family, and then we chose to expand our family with “number one,” er… I mean, our daughter.
I love the idea that we can just pick up our daughter and go to Paris on a moment’s notice. With just one child, we have relatively few details to coordinate, so we have the luxury of being spontaneous and chaos-free. But with two kids, it’s man-on-man defense and the potential for chaos goes up exponentially. That seems intense.
It’s about this point in my argument when I hear my mother’s voice in my head: “Kellie don’t make her weird.” For those of you who don’t know my mother, that is code for: don’t try to mold your only child into who you think she should be—don’t give her too, too much attention. My mom knows that I like to work on a project-to-project basis. I like to throw myself completely into whatever it is I’m working on. Give it my all, so to speak. She cautions me that it doesn’t always work that way with human beings. Human beings are not acting gigs, they’re… human beings. Maybe having a microscope on one single offspring isn’t the best idea in the world.
I try very had to live in the moment and not think about “what ifs” and the possibility of future regrets. Yes, it would be really cool for my daughter to have a sibling. I cannot imagine growing up without having my sister in my life. That’s a great reason to go for “number two,” but at this precise moment, not enough for me to shift our lives.
Then I look at my kid. How is she doing? Is she happy? Are we, as a family, happy? At the end of the day these are really the most important things to consider. I’m grateful for this moment and for all that we have together. And, for the record, we haven’t yet jetted off to Paris at a moment’s notice, but, you never know what tomorrow might bring.
Get your walkin' shoes on, y'all! -
I am the spokesperson for Autoimmune Diseases Association because autoimmune disease has touched my family and friends. I’m hosting a series of walks around the country to raise $ and awareness please check out this link and tell your friends! thanks! xo kel
talking childbirth options with Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein
I still have my favorite stuffed animal from childhood. He’s a raggedy, strange, little dog named Poppy. He was (and is!) one of my most cherished possessions. He was by my side all through childhood, and even when I went through tough times as an adult, there was Poppy, happy to listen and snuggle. Yes, I did bring him to college with me. Don’t act shocked, he learned a lot at Yale.
My daughter has a similar obsession with a little stuffed dog that she got at FAO Schwarz in NYC. She is a little Dalmatian puppy named Ruff Ruff Stella Barkley (a grand name for a grand dog, n’est pas?). Ruff Ruff is already looking a bit… er, rough, so I’m hoping she’ll survive until my kid needs her at college. But in the event, that she get’s lost or loses her stuffing, it’s nice to know that her likeness has been forever captured in a beautiful portrait by First Friends.
It’s pretty brilliant, you just email photos of the favored stuffed animal, doll, blankie—heck, there’s even a few Matchbox cars up on the site—and Erin Chainani will create a hand-painted, framed portrait that your child can have forever. It’s a brilliant gift for the child who really doesn’t need another toy.
Check out the site: http://firstfriendsportraits.com
And without further ado, here’s Ruff Ruff’s fabulous portrait:
Do you remember when you were in school and had a required summer reading list for the summer? Call me crazy, but I really miss it. I remember sitting under a tree barefoot scaring myself half to death over my latest Nancy Drew book. Or hiding out in my room all day, no one bothering me until dinnertime, reading The Catcher in the Rye. It was kind of a luxury, that required summer reading list. A mandatory escape from a hot, boring summer into other worlds full of possibilities.
My daughter’s only 4, so a required summer reading list doesn’t seem appropriate yet, but a trip to our local library makes perfect sense. We spent about an hour searching for some fantastic books (three for the kid, one for the mom), got our library cards (my daughter’s first), and headed home to hunker down under a tree with some lemonade and read our brains out. Fun.
Oh, my daughter chose Sophie’s Window by Holly Keller, Grumpy Bird by Jeremy Tankard, and The Inside Tree by Linda Smith and David Parkins. I chose The Help by Kathryn Stockett. Even though my book has fewer pictures than my daughter’s selections, I’m enjoying it immensely.
May this be how we all spend at least part of our day, some of the time.
Ever since I found out I was going to have a little girl, I’ve been beyond excited for the moment when she would learn to ride a bicycle. I clearly remember my dad racing behind me as I pedaled with all my might and all my courage, terrified that he would let go, yet giddy with the idea that I could do it all by myself. It is one of the most important and poignant moments in a child’s life.
Today we bought our daughter a beautiful pink bicycle complete with streamers hanging from the handlebars and a zippy (and already overused) little bell. I can’t precisely pinpoint the moment at which my daughter changed today, but she did. Once she got onto her bike, she glowed with confidence and anticipation, and I saw her focus like never before. I tried to run alongside every step of the way, but quickly, she went ahead. Brave and eager.
I try very hard not to be overly sentimental, but today, watching my daughter, I was a bit of an emotional mess. Helping her lean to pedal and steer a bicycle then ride on her own just smacked me in the face as what a parent’s job is all about: teach them well, then let them go. I found this day, and more intensely that realization, startling. I really wasn’t ready to let her go but was relieved and grateful that she was prepared and excited to make her own way… albeit down our little street, then back again.
I love anything French. I love croissants, the Eiffel Tower, champagne, Degas…. And I so hoped that my daughter would aspire to be a little Francophile too. Of course, like any proper 4 year old, if I said let’s read “Le Petit Prince,” she would insist on “Clifford,” and if I suggested an éclair, she would insist on—actually she’s good with éclairs (who isn’t?).
My family is full of English-speaking Americans, and I’ve always thought my friends who had to speak another language at home were really cool. Then I went to college where I had friends who spoke 4, sometimes 5 languages. They were able to go to countless other countries and feel very much at home. Cool. So my husband and I decided that when we had a kid, she’d be introduced to a foreign language at a young age.
But it wasn’t until my daughter met Miss Sophie that she began to fall in love with all things French. Miss Sophie teaches French through the most delightful songs that she sings with her own children. You don’t have to speak the language to love listening to Sophie’s album “Bonjour,” but my guess is that you and your child will know every word by the third time though.
You can pick up “Bonjour” at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/sophielespetits. Il est tellement fantastique!
Photo by Mieke Snepvangers