Tag Archives: Community

Community

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Living in Ohio, I know first hand how a less urban community can be apathetic about environmental concerns. Moving back to Richland county after college, I was so discouraged to feel that I was the only one who cared. I’ve struggled with this discouragement for years, but eventaully found community through the internet and was content with the way things were. When I discovered Moms Clean Air Force last year, I was thrilled to have another resource for not only information, but support. When I realized that there was actually a physical office in Columbus, I felt bolstered in the hope that together we could bring change.

You see, I feel it’s incredibly important to keep ourselves involved with the world around us. It would be so easy for me to close the doors of my home and think that I’m not going to feel or see any of the effects of air pollution. I could look at my healthy children and say that there’s no reason for me to get involved since, clearly, it doesn’t apply to my life. But I can’t do that. I keep my environment too much to close my heart to say it doesn’t matter. So I soldier on, writing letters to senators and educating myself as best as I can.

Friday, I met with a small group of people in Mansfield. We talked Clean Air, Solar Power, Community Gardening, Fracking and Cooperation. I got to meet people who work for the Audubon society. I met leaders of the North End Community Improvement Collaborative. I learned about neuroscience. I heard from an involved member of my town on how to keep educating people about the pollutive effects of hydraulic fracturing. And I learned, I’m not alone.

The importance of the on the ground Moms Clean Air Force groups is that the involved mothers are really, truly not alone in their fight for clean air. I can pick up my phone and call Jenny anytime I need some ideas or encouragement when I’m trying to get a meetup together so we can introduce the Force to mother mothers. I can drive down to Columbus to sit in on any number of meetups that are discussing the issues at hand that Moms Clean Air Force is working to help us conquer. Getting involved and seeing the impact we can have on our Senator’s votes is so encouraging! It tells me that maybe the letters I wrote years ago didn’t necessarily reap the harvest, but maybe, just maybe they planted a seed.

If you’re like me, wishing and hoping for a connection to other mothers in Ohio who want the same clean, pure air for our children, get involved. Email us. We want to meet with you and help you educate your community. We are excited to help you write a letter of your own. We want to involve you in the work that we are passionate about. Contact Moms Clean Air Force Ohio and let us be part of your community today!

Help in case of a special need

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On Tuesday, the Carnival of Natural Parenting will go live for the month of March and the topic is Special Needs.  We were instructed to write about a special need in our parenting: a child with a chronic illness, a premature baby, perhaps the parent’s own health struggles.   I’ve written about my experiences as a child of a parent with a chronic illness in my post and it got me to thinking about ways to help a family in need.  The opportunity presented itself this week for me to take a basket to a family and while I was putting it together, I thought I’d turn it into a post.  We don’t live in a society that is very conscious of caring for other families like we used to.  Perhaps it’s because we are so busy now or perhaps it’s because we just don’t know what to do.  I know, better than most, what a blessing it can be to have someone show up in the midst of a family crisis to ease the burden.

I’ve been taking meals to families since I got out of college and moved home.  Our church has a committee of women (I assume it’s all women, anyway) that take meals to people as needed due to a new baby, surgery, death in the family, illness, etc.  Over the years, I’ve worked out the best recipes to take and figured out the best ways for me to help a family.  In the instance of death or illness, I think it’s best to take comfort food.  There’s a reason why it’s called comfort food: it fills you with warmth and eases the emotional pain.  New baby necessitaties food that can be eaten with one hand or requires little effort to get on the table for the rest of the family.  And in some cases, taking a meal that is already frozen and can be pulled out whenever the family needs it the most is the best thing to do.

If I have the time and the gumption, I do like to prepare a meal that is freezer-ready for future use and a meal that can be eaten right away.  Meals like Greek Pasta Casserole and Chicken Stir Fry are perfect for this need.  I usually keep a pan of the Greek casserole in my freezer to be pulled out in the event someone needs it.  These meals pack well into foil pans and travel well.  Just make sure you label the top with reheating instructions and identify the meal.  If you know the meal is going to go in the freezer, you might want to add the date you prepared it.  Breakfast crumb bars are a perfect dessert because they not only pack well, but they aren’t overly sweet.

Packing the meal is just as important as what you put in it.  If at all possible, use containers that don’t have to be returned.  Sadly, this often leads to gratuitous use of plastic in my case, but I suppose it goes to show you that I’m just as human as the next despite my desire to rid my home of plastic.  The boxes that Ball canning jars come in are actually perfect for transporting a meal!  I like to prep a salad and toppings for a meal that is going to be eaten right away.  Grilled chicken, chopped vegetables, seeds/croutons/dried cranberries or cherries, cheese, dressing and greens.  OR, a chicken cobb salad.  OR roast beef, spinach, feta and vinaigrette.  Keeping the elements of the salad separate is essential regardless of the type of salad you choose to make.  Nothing gets wilty or bruised.

If these options don’t speak to you, breakfast is a great idea!  A quiche, muffins and fruit is perfect!  Homemade bagels are also a wonderful treat that pack well.  For a new mom, having breakfast taken care of already is a wonderful relief.  When Liam was born, a friend brought us a basket with granola bars, trail mix and other snacks that were easily eaten while I was nursing.   And finally, even ordering supper from a place that offers home delivery is just as much of a blessing as spending time in the kitchen!

Whether it be a new baby or a surgery, families often run into times of need.  Being part of a community offers you the unique ability to reach out and fill that need.  Even if you don’t attend a church with a meal planning committee, or belong to a moms club, there are always opportunities to reach out to people around you and be a blessing; just look for the special needs in the lives of the families you know!

 

I’m a Concervative Christian and I want CLEAN AIR!!

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Cross Posted at Moms Clean Air Force 

As a new mom, I was excited to visit play groups and moms
clubs to meet other mothers.  I wanted to
connect and be a part of something.  My
diaper bag was full of cloth diapers, a reusable water bottle and homemade
snacks.  When asked, I was honest and told
them my ecofriendliness isn’t a hobby, it’s a lifestyle.  As always, this raised eyebrows in my circle
of friends; conservative and Christian. 
Somehow, being environmentally conscious and possessing any religious
affiliation has become impossible.

When I surveyed the moms in my area about the level of
importance environmental issues played in their lives, the primary answer I was
given is that they just don’t consider themselves environmental.  They try to teach their children not to
waste, but when it comes to taking a stand for something like cleaning up the
air we all breathe, they’d rather leave it to the “non-conservative leftists”. 

I understand that not everyone will have the same interests
or the same convictions, but in my opinion, if anyone should be above the curve
when it comes to protecting the Earth and our children, it should be those who
claim to have a personal relationship with God. 
If God created the Earth and all that inhabit it, isn’t it being
disrespectful to pick and choose what we are going to protect?  We spend so much time focusing on human
rights and yet gloss over the conditions in our world that silently threaten
the quality of our lives.

This is my Father’s world, and to
my listening ears
All nature sings, and round me rings the music of the spheres.
This is my Father’s world: I rest me in the thought
Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas;
His hand the wonders wrought.  ~  Maltbie Davenport
Babcock

If you believe that God created the Earth, then you believe
that when he created our human bodies, He had a reason for everything he
did.  Take a moment and think about
respiration.  The respiratory system is a
delicate balance between the intakes of the air around us, the cleaning of said
air and the expiration of the CO2 our bodies don’t need.  Our breathing is not only vital our survival,
but also part and parcel of balance here on Earth.  Living animals (including humans) must intake
the oxygen in order to survive, expelling carbon dioxide as waste.  In the meantime, plants are doing the exact
opposite.  In doing so, we have a
constantly renewing balance in the atmosphere. 
Because of this balance, the oxygen is simply renewed and never
consumed.  This would lead one to the
conclusion that we’re essentially breathing the same air that the Earth was
created with, except now, through the years, it’s collected other chemicals
that no matter how hard our lungs and the stoma on plants work, never fully
gets scrubbed out.

I don’t want my children breathing air that is intentionally
polluted.  I can’t imagine any mother
wanting this.  But if we insist on
calling ourselves conservatives who have no interest in environmentalism, we
are signing away our voice by our inactivism. 
And when we make the decision to throw away that vote because it’s not
popular at church or the moms group or the grocery, we have no one to blame but
ourselves for wasting this chance we have to stand up for our children’s
future, regardless of our creed.

The air we breathe

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On
this holiday weekend, I know many people in my area are heading up to
Lake Erie to celebrate with their families and friends.  There is an air
show and a few food festivals to enjoy.  I can’t help but wonder how
much local fish will be served at those food festivals, though. 
Recently, I wrote a guest post for Moms Clean Air Force
about how the air pollution around the lake has effected the fish I
grew up eating on sandwiches throughout the summer.  Even though I
really do strive to eat local foods in my daily life, I make a huge
exception when it comes to fish from Ohio’s lake.  

As
election season is gearing up here in Ohio, I’ve decided to ask the
hopefuls who knock on my door asking for my support some questions.  I
want to know why when I search for ways to get involved in my community,
there are very few ways to be involved in cleaning up our environment. 
There is an outstanding lack of clean energy in my area, a few solar
panels and wind turbines excepted.  So when the gentleman showed up on
my door a few nights ago asking for my vote in his bid to be mayor.  I
asked him point blank why we don’t seem to care about the air quality or
our carbon footprint.  He didn’t have an answer for me.  That was the
tipping point for me.  Since then, I’ve been on the phone with the
health department in my county, emailed the state’s health department,
the EPA and written several letters to my representatives.  I want my
children to be able to enjoy the air they breathe and the Earth we live
on, so I’m taking a stand and fighting with mothers across the country
for better EPA standards and pure air for our babies. 
This holiday weekend as we celebrate our troops and the freedom they
fight for, I’m asking you to join us and fight for clean air for our
children.  Will you?