Watching Mandy (my wife, pictured here with our son Hucky) take on motherhood over the past 5 years has been a site. She is a force. Researching, reading, engaging and playing.
It came naturally to her, but maintaining the balance between who she is as a person and who she is as a mother is not easy. Especially in this era of expectation. Mom's are often expected to be everything to their kids, while also holding down a job, exercising their bodies and souls, supporting partners and still having time for friends and hobbies.
It's a lot, and for our family, the great pause has given me an opportunity to appreciate how much my wife has done for our little guys (aged 3 & 5) to ensure they grow into caring and courageous boys and men.
A big part of this has been environmental stewardship. Mandy has found courses (if you're in Toronto, check out the Pine Project, it's amazing) and books, games and lessons to guide them on a path of understanding, connection and appreciation of the natural world. And I love her for it.
Tell us how your Mom has helped guide you (directly or indirectly) to become more sustainable and connected to the natural world. We'll choose five answers and send your Mom an etee hit kit!
Put your answers in the comments below!
Congratulations to the commenters below, we'll be contacting you shortly about your etee hit kit !
Sarah Gregory
“My mom has always been a champion of the environment. Made sure I always knew the difference in what could and could not be recycled, she used to embarrass me at picnics and other events but fishing out the plastic from the garbage, and would told me she didn’t care what people thought of her, she was doing what was right for the environment. Every year at Christmas she picks a new product (for many years it was 7th generation toilet paper) that is responsibly sourced, uses recycled resources, and most of all less or no plastic and gives that to everyone, it has been bamboo straws, and re-usable grocery bags, and toilet paper. Every year we go to a family camp of about 250 people and she used her own money to buy everyone re-usable water bottles to reduce the number of single use water bottles. She is always looking for ways to be the most Eco-conscious and conservative she can be. After I got over the childhood embarrassment I now admire and appreciate all that she taught me, and how she continues to be a champion no matter what.”
Cynthia Fogliatti
My mother had a tremendous effect upon me growing up and, although she has passed, still influences me to this day. She lived frugally, according to her Scottish/English heritage, with the mantra “Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without!” She was wonderfully inventive in fashioning “fixes” for various problems and I look at everything—especially now with the Coronavirus crisis keeping everyone sheltered in—with the question of how I might reuse it, repurpose it, or at least recycle all or parts of it. This has saved our family a lot of money getting another use out of something and NOT buying items we don’t really need. There’s also a bonus factor: it’s fun to put your mind to work inventing creative solutions!
Susan Young
My mother, Anne Cochran, raised us in the 60’s and 70’s and was an EarthMother before her time! She always had little nature/ science projects going. We made terrariums, and sprouted seeds, and raised tadpoles,(of course releasing them when they became frogs!) . We got up at night to watch meteor showers, and we rose before dawn to see a bunch of migrating monarch butterflies clutched together on a tree on someone’s farm. We took lots and lots if hikes through state and national parks. Through all of this, she shared her deep love of nature! She also educated us about recycling! Even back in the the 70’s , she recognized the evils of plastic, and taught us how and why we should avoid it!
Thank you ,Mother for teaching us to respect our Mother Earth!!!
Your love has been passed down to your kids and grandkids! All 3 generations use Etee products!!❤️🌎 Happy Mother’s Day!
Comments
My parents were all about enjoying the outdoors (canoeing, hiking, camping) but my mom was the one who never wasted food items and reused all our containers. Her mom too was all about re-using what we had and producing as little waste as possible. We had a garden and a compost growing up so we knew the importance of the whole food cycle.
My mom has been gone for over 20 years, but was light years ahead of her time when it came to recycling, organic food and clean living. She taught me details on organic gardening, composting and recycling/ reuse of of as much as possible including simple things like egg shells on the garden and the kind words and music to promote plant growth. She always used jugs and cans in a creative way and taught me how to honor mother earth.
Ever since I was born, my mom has been extremely conscious about her impact on the environment. She used reusable diapers, would grow her own vegetables, composted, recycled and limited garbage. Growing up, I didn’t really recognize her efforts because it was normal to me. What she instilled in me shows up now when I use her teachings in my daily life!! My friends will comment or ask me questions about certain things I’m doing. (Using vinegar instead of fabric softener or using old fabric for gift wrap!) One of the best, most current things she did was make a mask (for Covid-19) out of an old pair of my pajamas from over 15 years ago! I am so grateful for who she is and what she has taught me about the environment!! Thank you! :)
My mom was an amazing person. She taught me to be independent and strong and stand on my own two feet and not depend on someone else to take care if me. She taught me to love unconditionally and look past flaws to the real person. Would give anything to hug her one more time.
It wasn’t my mother whom I got ideas from. It was my grandmother born in Finland around 1890, came to the Sudbury area with her family around 1900. She was thrifty but practical; she also brought “old country” ideas. The one I remember is how she composted vegetable and fruit remains. She had two or three ongoing compost piles on the go at any one time. I was taught to bury the compost deep into the earth so it wouldn’t attract animals. This was in the early 1950’s at our “camp” outside of Sudbury, Ontario. And in the process Imbie, as we called her, turned vey poor soil clay soil into rich black loam. And the loam went right back into her flower and vegetable gardens. These supplied beautiful flowers, fresh produce and a sense of accomplishment to a young boy (me) who had the welcome task of keeping the compost working and learning to recycle when the practice was far from an environmentally correct practice. Back then it was just a natural thing to do. And it provided a good supply of earth worms to be used as bait for fixing.
My mom has always made us very conscious of recycling and garbage and to always make sure you are putting the right things in the right bins. We don’t have any plastic water bottles, all bottles in our house are reusable. We reuse plastic cutlery from takeout places as well as the boxes they come in. We have many reusable Tupperware as well.