When I Was Young – Live Green Mom

Blog name: Live Green Mom
URL: http://livegreenmom.com
Twitter: @LiveGreenMom
Facebook: Live Green Mom

First of all, I want to thank Danielle for inviting me to guest post. It’s a wonderful idea that invites us all in to ‘chat’ about what has shaped us as adults, specifically the books we latched onto when we were young.

When did you start your blog and why?
I began blogging in late December 2009, so, in other words – not for too long! I have always felt compelled to write – stories when I was a child, long (‘very long!” says my husband) letters to friends, family, loves. I never thought I have a book in me to write, but I still felt like I had something to say. Which intersected with my need to divert paths in life, the path from just raising my children and going through my day to day motions, to a greener, more sustainable, earth-friendly path. The road to going green began at a young age, spending the summer of 1982 in Germany with my grandparents. There were recycling centers and special bins for old batteries around the city, and my Oma & Opa brought their own cloth bags to the markets. They shopped a few times a week to buy fresh foods, and they grew their own fresh fruits and vegetables. The first time I had ever tasted a real cherry was that summer! Imagine! This was all very different and new to a 12 year old girl from Texas. It wasn’t until I became a parent and started learning more about being green and the benefits not only for planet Earth but for my children. I am not fanatical or preachy, but I try to live by example. That does not mean it is always easy, though. Sometimes I just want to throw away all my fruit and vegetable scraps instead of trekking out into the snow to compost. Or I want to pack the kids lunches in plastic baggies so that they can throw them away, instead of the scramble sometimes to clean out their lunch boxes right before the bus gets here, because we all forgot to unpack them and clean them out the night before. But I forge on, learning from others all around me, as well as figuring out what works for me on my own. My theory has evolved to “small changes add up”. I make small changes that work for me, not comparing myself to someone else that might have more time or money to make bigger leaps. It’s not a race, it’s not about who wins, it’s about all of us doing what we can, big or small. It all adds up. My blog is about my small changes and my struggles.

Tell us about yourself outside your interest of books.
I am a mom to an 8 year old girl, Sophie, and a 6 year old boy Max. Being a mom defines so much of who I am these days, I almost forget who I used to be. I love to be active, be outside, work in my yard. I taught myself to unicycle last summer! I was surprised to find that there is a large uni-cycling community in my town! Who knew? I hurt my back last autumn (not uni-cycling) and I am scared I won’t be able to get back on this summer and practice. It isn’t easy! I am a homebody and while I am outgoing and social, I’m not pressed to go out much. I just like the peaceful, healthy home I have created for my family.

Your favorite book from your youth and the story behind it.
I have always loved to read, it was such an escape for me as a child watching my parents divorce when I was 8, rough patches with siblings, then going through my awkward years. I don’t think I can pinpoint one particular book that I loved as a child. However, I can say without a doubt, that there was one author that I came back to over and over again. Beverly Cleary. I know many of you who are reading this have just smiled and nodded your head in agreement. Who hasn’t read her books as a child? Her first book, Henry Huggins, was published in 1950. I loved it when I read it is the late 1970′s and even now, as I read her books to my little girl, I see my son Max in Henry. I see Ramona in Sophie! Her characters are timeless, and they give me an opportunity to present characters to my children that aren’t overly preoccupied with their clothes, their looks, or technology. There is no premature witty banter that make adults look clueless. (That is one of my main gripes about television shows and some books aimed towards kids my daughter’s age). Her characters are engaging and endearing, especially Beezus and Ramona. Who, with siblings, couldn’t relate to those two? When I was a young girl, I used to say to myself, I hope when I become a mommy, I have a little girl and I can read all these books to her. I got so lucky! I have a daughter that loves Beverly Cleary as much as I do. I get such a kick out of re-reading and rediscovering these gems with Sophie. I do not think that any parent can go wrong picking up any book from Beverly Cleary and reading it with their children. Books like these are such a valuable way to open up conversation with my children that aren’t preachy. Instead of “You know what I did about that when I was a kid?” which can have my children’s eyes glazing over, I can read a chapter and ask Sophie what she thought about that situation, or how she would have responded to what was going on in the story.

I also loved the fact that as I got older, she had books like Fifteen, The Luckiest Girl, and Jean and Johnny that I could relate to as I began to like boys and unravel their mystery.

I’d love to hear from other readers what their favorite Beverly Cleary book is!

Thank you again for this opportunity to guest on your site. I love how you have reminded us about the value of books to a child in this very fast paced world.

“Dee is absolutely wonderful! Our family is personally trying to improve our interaction with the environment around us and I love getting new ideas from the Live Green Mom site. Dee is also a fabulous friend to have on Twitter, she’s always willing to help out friends by sharing tweets of your most recent posts. Most of all I’ve loved getting to know her and the tremendous positive impact she has on everyone around her including the environment.

“Of course I’m partial to your book selection because I’m a huge Cleary fan, but I’m so glad you picked it! Thank you so much for sharing Dee!”

Interested in participating in the When I Was Young feature? Read about it here.

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