Raising Up a New Generation

I’ve been thinking recently about how Ella gets older, I continue to be amazed at how the world is shaping her into a different kid than I was. The world has changed so much in the past 25 years. First, I marvel at her technological proficiency. She is a wiz at operating our computer, figured out how to take pictures using my cell phone, operates her digital camera by herself, plays games on my Mom’s Blackberry, and enjoys working our iPods. These gadgets of course weren’t around when I was her age, but I am floored by the fact that at 4 and ½ years old, she is quite adept. I remember as a teenager/young adult giving my parents a hard time who stumbled through operating the DVD player, or surfing the internet. My kids are going to surpass me in no time with their technological prowess and I will soon be the laugh-ee.

Second, is Ella’s early awareness of protecting the environment. I wish I could take full credit for this, but she learns it in school and sees it on TV. These are issues that didn’t exist (or at least were not in the mainstream) when I was a child. Several days ago we were driving in the car and Ella explained to me that the smoke that comes out of cars is bad because it makes it hard for us to breathe. After Samantha finished a jar of baby food, Ella asked if I was going to recycle that. And she looks for litter at the park and around our yard to “to keep the earth beautiful” (I have the Dora mermaid episode to thank for that). And then she helps me to remember to bring my re-usable grocery bags into the grocery store (more on that in a moment). I find great comfort in the fact that this has entered her awareness. We try to bring it to her attention some, but she is clearly getting these messages in other places. So if she is, so are other kids, and that gives me hope that maybe we can raise a generation who will care about what we’re doing to our planet Earth.

So in light of trying to expose our kids to environmentally friendly practices, we did a fun outing this past week. I loaded the girls up in the van, along with my friend Christine and her two kids and drove up to Frederick County to visit an organic dairy farm.

We went last year and had a great time, mostly because you get to see the inner workings of a dairy farm, the kids get to feed the calves and you get to treat yourself to excellent ice cream.

(What is it with Ella and her peers not cooperating for the camera?) This farm is particularly neat because it’s the only farm in Maryland where they actually grow the crops the cows eat, milk the cows, and process and bottle the milk there on the premises. They of course don’t treat their cows with any hormones or antibiotics. The girls had a great time, and my only regret is that I didn’t get a larger bowl of ice cream.

I think our kids probably learn more from us through example than anything else. I mentioned before about my re-usable grocery bags. Part of what makes environmentalism unpopular and so hard is the inconvenience of altering your way of life for something you see no immediate benefit from. I don’t know if it’s a national craze, but at least in the DC area there has been a lot of hype about paper versus plastic. Paper is biodegradable and recyclable, but is more expensive and requires greater energy to produce. Plastic on the other hand is very cheap to produce, but is not recyclable and sits forever in landfills. So I’ve been eyeing others’ re-usable grocery bags for awhile, which a slight pang of guilt that I really should start using them. My biggest beef was that I would have these sitting around in my house and car all the time. However, I was at Sniders a couple of months ago, a local grocery store, and decided it was time to invest in some bags. I bought 4 and have been so pleased with my $4 investment. They fit so many more groceries, don't break and are easy to sling over your shoulders, making carrying groceries less cumbersome.

I fully recognize that not all of the readers of the Bowcut Bulletin share our concern about the environment (a certain younger brother springs to mind), and that’s okay, we can agree to disagree. But really and truly, give these bags a try--environmentalism aside, they are much more user friendly. And don't worry, I won't tell anyone you're being green.