Memories of my Earth Mama

One of my earliest memories of my Mother is also one of my favorite memories. She has always been the kind of girl that stops to smell the flowers, literally. She loves to garden and look at birds and squirrels and turtles, knowing each by their proper classification name. I never really took to her intense love of the animal and plant kingdom, but have always cherished this in my Mother.



Some may think that traveling around town with two little girls and a large pair of garden shears in the backseat, could be a dangerous situation. Not my mom. If we were to squeal, "look mom- all those beautiful wildflowers!" the car would come to a halt on the side of a road and she would be out in the field, armed with her shears, gathering a bouquet for our table. My sister and I would watch cautiously from the station wagon windows, hoping simultaneously that she would not get hit by a car, and that she had clipped enough. When she returned to the car, she would take a napkin dipped in water and wrap the cut stems up in them and put the flowers in a plastic bag to keep them fresh and hydrated. We thought she was amazing.



She loved this pair of cut off jeans that were rather holey. They were very short, but due to her Arabic heritage, she has a great year round tan and trim legs so they looked great on her. She always lent a helping hand to those who needed her most and this was one of those days. I remember the car screeching to a stop and the next thing I knew, she was out in the road, in her tiny shorts, carrying a massive turtle out of harms way. Nose pressed to the glass, I looked at her as if she were a heroine. My mom, friend of turtles.



More recently, Christo and I brought home a plant from a sale at someones farm. On our way home, we heard squeaking sounds coming from the car. Were we going to break down? Were the kids choking? We moved the plant around in the backseat and the squeaks ceased. It was definitely the plant. When we got home, I was thoroughly afraid of what was lurking under the green leaves. Could it be a mouse? Was it a snake? Do snakes squeak?



I was frantic and Christo began to try to jimmy the plant out of the pot. As he worked on it, it became evident that it was a bird's nest and there were several baby birds inside. The pot broke because we felt compelled to save the birds and not the plant. So what do we do now? I was not ready to be a mom to baby birds. I did not need a case of "Are You My Mother?" with 3 little humans to care for as well. So I call mom. She rushes over, gives them the appropriate mixture of sugar water in a dropper she brought from home. Then she established the kind of birds that they were. She created a makeshift habitat with the right kind of newsprint and remnants from the destroyed nest. Once again I stared with awe. She is my Mom, Saviour of baby birds. She took them to the bird rescue: Mission Accomplished!



It turns out my Mother is not only looking out for me- She is a true Earth Mother for all.

Talking About Big Things

My daughter and I have always had bold conversations. I feel like an older version of her, or maybe she is a younger version of me. I am 27 and she is 5. I loved being 5. I wanted to be an artist and she wants to be a veterinarian. I loved noodles and she loves cookies. We both watched Little House on the Prairie and we both wanted to be Laura.

When I was little, people would say "look at that red hair" and "my, what an old soul she is" and my daughter has both red hair and an "old soul"... She likes to ask questions such as "Mother, what is my glorified body going to be like?" and "Mother, did Adam and Eve have belly buttons since they were not actually born?" I have no idea of course, but we must discuss these things and try to figure them out or else I may lose that deep and inquisitive nature in myself and in my child. So, we deal with these things in a 1 part logical and 2 parts fantasy sort of way.

I volunteer each week at a Crisis Pregnancy Center. I talk to scared women about their options. I try and give them hope for a chance for the baby's life whether it be adoption or choosing to parent. I tell them that abortion is also an option, and give them a scientific run down of the procedure. Usually that is enough to make a woman either burst into tears, put on a stone cold face, or feel sick to their stomachs. Some women choose to parent, some abortion, and very few choose adoption. My job is to encourage them to get informed , know their rights and secretly pray that this little one will be born and have a chance to make a difference in this crazy world. Lily wants to know what Abortion is....

So- I tell her, no fantasy or logic- just the cold hard facts. Many may feel that she is too young to know. Some may think that this is wrong on my part and sucking away her innocence. I would argue that she is not innocent (she is a sinner that repents) or too young. She is my child and I know her better than others do.

My other children are too young. She has a history of asking sincere questions and they do not. We talked about Mountaintop removal. She was horrified. "Why are they destroying God's beauty?" she asks. So I tell her that it is so we can watch TV and turn on the light in the bathroom all night long so brother won't be afraid.

Talk to your little ones about BIG THINGS. Start them on a lifetime to critical thinking and wonder. Don't leave them there to figure it out alone and incorrectly. Don't tell them "what to think" teach them "how" to think.

Watch this!

Mountain Witness Tour mosaic by blueathena7

Mountaintop Removal Videos that you must get angry about:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2dueyHZ6tY
and this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziuFW-7h1LM
and this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDAFQjLoxCM
thank you!!!

West Virginia- Mountain Mama

I am not a very political kinda lady. I like to think about the issues, discuss them with friends and family, and maybe even form a strong opinion now and again (beware the absolutes). But over the last few days I have become aware of a travesty that has gone without discussion in the political arena.

Last month, my husband and I were looking all over the Internet for our future homestead. (More on our dream later) After a massive search yielding little in our price range, we found a seeming diamond in the rough. A Victorian farmhouse from the late 1800's with 14 rolling acres in a cute town in West Virginia. The best part is that it was CHEAP!

I called my fellow blogger and best friend over at mama goes green and she said- "Oh Lindsay, that is beautiful now, but not for long. By the way, it is not safe to live there." I was shocked that there could be ghettos or crime rates higher there than in my metro area in Florida. But of course that was not what she was saying. She was referring to this largely covered up issue of MOUNTAINTOP REMOVAL.

Mountaintop removal is a radical form of coal mining in which entire mountains are literally blown up -- and it is happening here in America on a scale that is almost unimaginable.
Mountaintop removal is devastating hundreds of square miles of Appalachia; polluting the headwaters of rivers that provide drinking water to millions of Americans; and destroying a distinctly American culture that has endured for generations. (taken from ilovemountains.org)

If you check out you tube you will see so many heartbreaking videos of deaths, suffering and destruction due to the problem of mountaintop removal. I do feel angered by the fact that our mountains and our people, American people, are being forced to comply with these injustices.

This situation reminds me of Hurricane Katrina. There were people who were suffering and everyone was turning a deaf ear. Entire communities were devastated and an eerie silence followed because, poverty and race kept them from a platform to have a strong voice. The difference is that Katrina was a NATURAL disaster, while mountaintop removal for the purpose of cheap and easy energy, is a PREVENTABLE disaster.

It does not have to happen. A 3 year old does not have to die because a boulder rolls onto him as he sleeps. 15 year olds do not have to drown because of flooding in the valleys that normally had creeks and springs. And we do not have to blow up mountains to get at the coal. We don't even need coal if we use alternative forms of energy.

"Clean coal: Never was there an oxymoron more insidious, or more dangerous to our public health. Invoked as often by the Democratic presidential candidates as by the Republicans and by liberals and conservatives alike, this slogan has blindsided any meaningful progress toward a sustainable energy policy". (Jeff Biggers from the Washington Post penned this statement.)

When we buy our future home and land, we may not have an Appalachian mountain dream after all. We may have to plant our roots elsewhere for our own safety. This is not only disturbing, it is appalling and my rights have been limited once again.