Green with Children

My Work Here is Done

Progress is green. It's natural. Just like tomato plants, fish, mosquitoes, gorillas and every other living creature--we humans grow and change.

When I look back at my first blogs versus where I am today, I marvel at how much I've grown. In one of those first entries, I struggled with convincing my children not to use sandwich bags and juice boxes. Now I don't even own sandwich bags; instead I have a growing collection of reusable drink bottles and food containers.

Not that I seek his approval, but that kooky Texan T. Boone Pickens would be proud because I use clean wind power. All our lightbulbs are CFLs. My car might attract insults, but it never idles. My garbage is recycled. If I forget a canvas bag, I will carry my items out of the store in my hands.

I started a vegetable garden, and I just joined this cool food co-op called Purple Dragon. Now my food is locally grown whenever possible, and always grown by small organic or environmentally conscientious farmers. (Find something like this where you live by visiting Local Harvest.)

I visit the library for nearly all my reading. I shop at thrift stores to clothe my perpetually elongating boys. We put cloth napkins in our laps and wipe up spills with dishtowels. When we wash those napkins and towels, we hang them out to dry on a line in the sun.

For me, before this blog, going green was a massive but virtuous commitment to be avoided, like quitting sugar or finally getting rock-hard abs. The truth is that this has not been such a laborious process (unlike that abs thing). It has not been about making sacrifices that rob me of life's conveniences and pleasures (unlike that sugar thing). If anything, I find life to be simpler and more satisfying. With this blog as a constant motivator, I have succeeded at shrinking my family's carbon footprint. When the editorial director of the Green Guide proposed this idea last year, he gave me leeway to vent and complain about what didn't work. I sheepishly confess that I don't have many complaints.

A huge side effect? It's made me realize that like a well-tended plant, your mind can perpetually grow and expand. Change is a daily part of my life now and I don't fear it anymore. I don't make excuses for why a new idea will be too complicated or too difficult. I just give it a try.

So when Jeff suggested I take this blog bigger, I didn't laugh in his face. After all, the Green Guide is going in a new direction and blogs like mine will be fading from this site. My work here is done. It's time for something new.

For years a couple of friends of mine routinely called me for tips on where to get the best Greek mezethes, metallic wedge sandals, children's books, discount designer clothing, petticoats for saris and just about anything else. They had a joke that whenever they needed information, they only needed to Just Ask Alix. So that's the name of my new blog. Keep reading.

© The Green Guide, 2008

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