Friday, May 23, 2008

The Next Generation

I had a fun day yesterday playing with three of my grandsons. While they watched a video in the afternoon, I hemmed cotton flannel swaddling blankets for another grandson who will be born in July. Sometimes I get very discouraged in my efforts to educate people and create a safer and healthier world, free of the chemicals that make my life so unpleasant (I know, that's an understatement, but I'm trying to be nice).

What I have to keep reminding myself is that I am doing this for the next generation. My generation got us into this mess of a chemical stew, and it's unrealistic to think that it's going to be cleaned up overnight. But, when I look at my grandchildren or lovingly stitch a blanket that will comfort my baby's baby, I know that anything I do is worth the effort, because these children are worth the effort. I can't make everything all better, but I can do something, and that's good enough. Just as the chemicals to which I am exposed have a cumulative effect on my immune system, so the little things each of us do have a cumulative effect on the world.

2 comments:

Becca said...

It is kind of scary thinking how the world will be in 20 years, when Junior is not so junior anymore. But I do think that the kinds of efforts made by people like you will be worth it and will help to make things better.

Thanks for the blankets :)

celia said...

That is hopeful--that the trees we plant, the organic foods we produce and the chemical-free things we create . . . can help erase the hardships we are battling--

I love my parents and their generation, and I especially adore my grandparents, but I blame their generation, even though my own ancestors had no involvement in it--



it was chemicals developed for the world wars that had "nowhere to go" that began the huge chemical industry in America . . . :(--

But you are right; OUR generation has enabled it to continue unhampered . . . :(