I distinctly remember the age when I became critical of my parents. For at least ten years, I was sure I was just a tiny version of my mother, but, as my preteen years approached, I began to realize that even my mom (gasp!) wasn't perfect. Although I was unnecessarily unkind at times about my mother's shortcomings, I knew her so well that I was mostly correct in recognizing her faults! I won't air my amazing mother's imperfections here, but the point is, we all have them.

As my own second Mother's Day approaches, I begin to wonder: What will my daughter teach me about myself? What faults will she notice that I won't want to see? Of course, I can't foresee the future, but I can begin, as a mom, to hold myself to higher standards. I've already learned not to cuss in front of my daughter (99% of the time), and I'm trying to be less critical of other people in front of her, but there are many other things I'm sure will smack me upside the head as soon as she becomes a more independent individual.

Regardless of what she chooses to criticize, I believe the central problem of my daughter's generation (and all coming generations perhaps) is environmental degradation. If my daughter tells me I talk too loud, or I wear the wrong clothes, I'll be able to live with those criticisms, but if she claims I'm an earth-hater and one of those who left her with a legacy of toxicity and waste, I'll have a hard time living with myself. And, sometimes, knowing what you can live with is what it's all about, in the end.

So, I'm taking it one day at a time: Trying to use cloth diapers when we're not traveling, taking showers instead of baths, reusing a water bottle, water glass, travel mug, and lunchbox, turning off the heat and lights, hanging my clothes when they're halfway dry, buying local food. If I can find a new way once a week to cut down on our family's energy and water consumption, I'll at least be able to answer to my daughter (and myself) when she goes away to college and joins Earth First!