The Saturday Post

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April is National Poetry Month and I've been remiss in mentioning that, posting anything about it. So even though there's less than a week left in National Poetry Month, I want to give you this: an empowering poem for every woman, but one that I think will especially resonate with the older women, the grandmothers, the ones most likely to be considering where their journey has, is and will continue to take them. Let me know what you think.

The Journey by Mary Oliver

One day you finally knew

what you had to do, and began,

though the voices around you

kept shouting

their bad advice--

though the whole house

began to tremble

and you felt the old tug

at your ankles.

"Mend my life!"

each voice cried.

But you didn't stop.

You knew what you had to do,

though the wind pried

with its stiff fingers

at the very foundations,

though their melancholy

was terrible.

It was already late

enough, and a wild night,

and the road full of fallen

branches and stones.

But little by little,

as you left their voices behind,

the stars began to burn

through the sheets of clouds,

and there was a new voice

which you slowly

recognized as your own,

that kept you company

as you strode deeper and deeper

into the world,

determined to do

the only thing you could do--

determined to save

the only life you could save.

Today's question:

What is your favorite poem or line from a poem?

Every little bit

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April 22 is Earth Day, and I have to admit that I'm not as conscientious as I should be about saving the planet. Especially considering that as a grandma, I hope the planet will always and forever be a good home for Bubby and all my other grandchildren, great-grandchildren, great-great-grandchildren and so on to come.

But there are a few things that I do. And it's my understanding -- or at least my justification -- that every little bit helps.

Here are some of the environmentally responsible things I do:

  • I turn off the water while brushing my teeth.

  • We have low-flow toilets in two of our three bathrooms (the third is a non-standard size and low-flow isn't an option there).

  • We have low-flow shower heads in two of the three bathrooms (again, low-flow won't work in the third).

  • I take showers instead of baths. FYI from the EPA: A full bathtub requires about 70 gallons of water, but taking a five-minute shower saves water by using 10 to 25 gallons.

  • We have absolutely no grass that needs watering on our property. I could pretend we chose to xeriscape, but the home came that way. (Well, we did remove the smidgen that was in the back yard, so we did do our part. Yay!)

  • Because we have no grass to water, we also have no grass in need of mowing, so we help out there by not using fuel and not contributing to air pollution.

  • Another benefit of having no grass is that we don't fertilize it. EPA FYI: Fertilizer runoff can pollute rivers, lakes, and bays, and cause problems in recreational areas or fishing grounds.

  • I don't use the car every day of the week. Okay, it's because I work from home for the most part, but it still counts in my book. EPA FYI: Leaving your car at home just two days a week will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an average of 1,600 pounds per year.

  • We use Energy Star appliances ... and take advantage of any e-cycles on any of them, such as for the dishwasher and clothes washer.

  • We recycle electronics by sending old cell phones out for use by deployed military folks, bringing old computers to an electronics recycling center, etc.

  • We poop scoop, disposing of the dog (and cat) doo in places that won't contaminate stormwater ... unless Mickey has an accident on our walk when he's not supposed to and I didn't bring scooping gear. EPA FYI: Leaving pet waste on the ground increases public health risks by allowing harmful bacteria or organic material to wash into the storm drain and eventually into local water bodies.

  • When we travel, we opt out of daily linen changes. We hang our towels to reuse a second time and we don't have the sheets changed each day.

  • We pay for a recycling service to pickup our recyclables instead of throwing them in the garbage.

  • We unplug appliances and such (can opener, lamps, etc) that aren't in use as plugged-in appliances still use energy even when they're off.

  • We're slowly but surely migrating from regular light bulbs to compact fluorescent lighting throughout the house. EPA FYI: If every American home replaced just one conventional light bulb with a compact fluorescent light bulb, we would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes a year.

  • Our thermostat is on a timer so less heat is used at night. (Unfortunately we no longer have A/C but when we did, it was also on a timer.)

  • Although I don't use reusable market bags for grocery shopping, we do re-use all of our plastic grocery bags -- to line our wastebaskets, for holding the doo when poop-scooping is done, and more.

Now that I look at it, it seems like I do a lot, which just goes to show that it's not that difficult, costly or time-consuming to do your part. Like I said, every little bit helps -- and adds up.

Today's question:

What's one or two environmentally responsible things you do around your home?

The next Grilled Grandma

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Related Posts with ThumbnailsIt's funny how doing this Grilled Grandma feature introduces me (and you!) to grandmas with similar names. I can understand having multiple Ninas and Lisas and such, but having double Grandma Cats was something I never expected. Awhile back, I featured Grandma Kat; this week I feature Grandma Cat.

Like the former grandma with a similar name, this Grandma Cat is one of the lucky ones: She gets to see her grandchildren every single week. I envy that more than I can put into words.

So what does Grandma Cat (aka Jeannie) do with her little ones when they get together? "Just play. We play lots of things, blocks, dolls, chalk, picnics in the livingroom, walking the dog, reading. I love it all."

Read all about Jeannie and how she became known as  Grandma Cat HERE.

And if you know of a grandma you'd like to see grilled, be sure to let me know HERE.

Today's (totally unrelated) question:

Do you have a tattoo? If yes, what and where? If no, what and where would/have you considered?

My answer: I don't have a tattoo, but I've considered getting a thin ankle bracelet.