by Enci
taying Sustainable in the Role of a Lifetime
In just a few months, I’m going to be stepping into the role of a lifetime. This role is the biggest yet! There is no pulling out and the responsibility is huge, even though there is no Union contract.
I’m grateful for this role, not only because so many women try out for this and don’t succeed, but also because I do think that in this town, where everybody strives for fame and fortune, time flies by so fast and many miss this opportunity entirely. Women have a limited time to get this role.
The role I’m talking about is Motherhood. The time has come for me to have my own family with my own set of rules. And having a family brings many challenges as we all know. Not just financially or how to raise a child right, and to make sure that my husband and I are doing a great job, but also the challenge of staying sustainable. To me, that is very important!
I’m acutely aware of the bad air that we breath. I’m super sensitive to the additives, food coloring, high fructose corn syrup, and medication that is in our food. I’m in the know of the plastic and the chemicals that we put on our skin and into our bloodstream with cosmetics, lotions and hygiene products. I’m especially tuned in now, that I have a new life that I’m responsible for growing inside me.
This role of a lifetime is going to be challenging in many ways and I’m looking forward to it! I’m looking forward to finding solutions for raising a child sustainably, without plastic, without disposables, without chemicals on my baby’s skin and while I’m exploring new ideas, I’m also looking back to my ancestors, who lived simple, without hurting mother nature.
Even though there is now all this plastic that is supposedly “healthy” to use, I don’t think “healthier bad” is better than being simply healthy.
I’m already looking into washable cotton for diapers, finding mini glass bottles for the baby to drink from after I’m finished nursing (which I hope to do for a year), and I’m looking at kitchenware, body lotions, soaps with a whole new set of eyes. No plastic packaging and no chemicals are my basic goals to raising a healthy child.
I’m starting with buying only what is necessary and what I can’t get from friends. New mothers discard a lot of stuff that they no longer use and usually that “stuff” isn’t needed for very long. Expectant mothers buy clothes, that only fits for 4-5 months. Children grow out of their clothes and bedding in no time. Re-using and re-purposing is a good way to stay green. So that is where I’ll start.
I’m looking forward to your guidance and help where it’s offered and I hope to hear from you about ideas, suggestions, and options that I can use to become not only a good mother to my child, but also a good human being to the planet.
Enci is a working actress and also a writer/director at her company Rebel Without A Car Productions.
Enci is the publisher of the theatre site Bitter Lemons, the Co-Founder of the Bike Writers Collective, she’s on the board of Bikeside, on the Cyclists/LAPD Task Force, on the SAG Conservatory Committee, and she works with government entities to make Los Angeles more bike-friendly and bike-conscious.
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