Hello!

[cer35]

Hi all,
discovered this site a few weeks back, and couldn't resist joining the discussions!
I'm a SAHM with two children - a nearly 3 yr old girl, and a 6 mth old boy. Like many folk I've started on the sustainable living route since having kids. Started with cloth nappies, and now 3 years on have decided to take on an allotment (well, a quarter plot anyway!). My dear husband is getting dragged along with all my schemes with slightly less enthusiasm, but he usually comes round to the idea eventually.

Looking forwarded to chatting with you all.

Clare

[ina]

Hi Clare, it's nice that you decided to join in!
Plenty of others here with new allotments. And, well, we all know that men sometimes need a bit longer to get the right idea...

(Yes, yes, I shut up... Sorry, present men not included in that generalisation, of course !)

[Shirley]

Hi Claire

Nice to meet you - when is your little girl's birthday? My little man will be three on the 28th of April... my other children are a bit older at 11 and 19!

[the woodmaiden]

Hi there!
I am squeeky new to!but loving my Margo kaftan lol! 8) I have 8month twin girls & their arrival changed our life as it does lol!
We are in the process of digging veg beds in the garden so hoping with luck more than skill lol we might be able to grow summit this year!
I think having kids certainly reinforces how important it is to live gently & also I know with us its meant our income halving so its vital to get the most we can out of each £1! & cutting back on everything goes hand in hand I think with being green,use less so buy less!
look forward to getting to know you
Bright Blessings
Woody
x x x x

[Andy Hamilton]

Hello there and welcome to the forum, if one plot is big enough to grow enough veg for a family of 4 for a year then one 1/4 of a plot should see you ok for 3 months. That makes you self sufficient ish

[Wombat]

G'Day Claire,

Sounds like you're heading in the right direction!

Nev

[hedgewizard]

Hiya Clare and Woody! Woody, where are you? We're in Dorchester and there's folk in Tauntan and Poole!

[the woodmaiden]

Hi there Hedgewizard fabby name btw! I am in Charminster in Bournemouth theres one in Dorchester too lol!!
I used to have a beau in Dorchester near Maiden Castle!!!,its a nice town!
I tried the map thing but I couldnt get it to work,kept saying my post code wasnt right lol!
Bright Blessings
Woody
x x x x

[felix]

Dear Cer, Shirlz, Woodmaiden,

Congatulations on your motherhood! I wish you and your children all luck and joy.

To anyone else thinking about having babies: Please don't. There's more than enough humans as it is. If we dont get control of our population then nature will and her way is a lot less pleasant.

Prof. Al Bartlett explains it better in this earth shatteringly good video lecture : http://www.globalpublicmedia.com/lectures/461

Peace.

[Wombat]

I've done my reproducing and I understand your point, having been committed to ZPG myself, but there are still many out there who are not! It was interesting that we were taught at school that Thomas Malthus was wrong because his dire predictions did not materialise immediately, but his reasoning always seemed sound to me, his timing was just a bit off!

Nev

[hedgewizard]

Can't agree with not having kids. Without wanting to go into spiritual matters, if you accept that the bulk of the population will continue to produce unenlightened children, surely our own output of (hopefully) slightly more aware kids might be an important component in influencing these future generations?

To think outside the box, you have to live outside the box!

[Muddypause]

Dear gad, that's a terrible argument. It's exactly parallel to religious fanatics saying that they have to have as many kids as possible so that their brand of enlightenment will eventually dominate. It's an idea of exraordinary conceit.

As soon as you make the judgement that your kids are more morally entitled to a place here than other people's then we are well on the way to ever increasing circles of strife.

I'm hoping you didn't mean it like it seems.

A comemntator on the radio the other day made the observation that our growth in population, and our growth in consumption of oil, followed each other exactly. Personally, I wonder what is to be achieved by having a growing population in the developed world. It seems to me that having a child is a responsibility that goes far beyond the family, and will have a legacy as far into the future as you care to imagine.

In my more disconnected moments, I sometimes think that maybe we are a sort of algic bloom of pond life on the surface of the earth - we multiply exponentially until eventually we consume all the resources that keep us alive, and will then die back catastrophically. I imagine in human terms this will be a lot less pleasant than watching a pond change colour. And it's peculiar to think that we are the only ones who think it is at all important.

[Millymollymandy]

Yet we cull animals in those sorts of situations...........

Anyway, too heavy for me, I just want to say welcome to the site, Clare!

[the woodmaiden]

Hi Felix
hmmm you not my dad on here are you??! thats his fave saying...that the population is unsustainable & Mother Nature will *reduce* if we dont.I do believe folk shouldnt have more kids than they can support .Its an issue that gets understandably emotive cos theres no *easy* answer...

I can certainly see his point-more people,more food has to be grown,more energy used,more places for them to live,more places for them to work & that generally involves making a load of useless *stuff* that fuels the throwaway culture so they can keep making their *stuff* ad infinitum!-..... but I cant see how its enforceable...unless laws like China have on one baby are made world wide.

It took me over 5 years to have my girls,we were told we had no hope unless assisted conception..to say I spent years in deep sadness & grief is an understatementI got to the lowest point & then offered it all up to what I believe in & said I cant carry this pain around anymore,what will be will be etc like most things that seemed to be the turning point!soon after that to find I had conceived naturally & then to find at the scan it was identical twins was the most magical thing

I can understand where hedgewizard is coming from too,I do want to think that I can raise my girls in the *best* way *I* see fit,I guess thats what all parents do but obviously all parents have different ways they see best fit to raise to-if that makes sense!
It already daunts me how to fend off those inevitable(or maybe not,Imaybe lucky!)-can I have one of those & why dont we do that/go there/use that etc etc etc.To me now my girls*are* here! its important that I raise them to *consume* as least as they can,to see that you dont have to be the way that you might see others being,I would hope not to come across as morally superior to those,just doing what I believe in,hmmm its hard to put into words!I am not good at *uber deep* especially early in the morn lol!!

I know in having my girls I have been blessed in the most wonderful way,not a day goes past when I dont thank my lucky stars for them,they have brought utter joy to our lives
To raise them as & scuse me cos I can never spell this word lol! conciencious...is that it??!!! way I can is to me a way of returning the gift that I had in being sent them.
I will never take them for granted & becoming a parent has shook me to me very core of the responsability that comes with it.

Two very interesting debates there!
Righty ho I have to shake my tail feathers,time waits & all that
Brightest Blessings to you all
Woody
x x x x

[glenniedragon]

I wholeheartedly agree with Hwiz and woody, I intend to help my kids develop into reasonable human beings with respect-for others and the planet. By having kids its a statement of optimism for the future and for us it was a kick in the backside to improve our lot today. Who knows one of my kids could be a great environmental revolutionary, or the father of one, who changes the face of the planet for the better!?! but one thing I do know is that their generation will be the Drs, Farmers, heck -even the politicians of my old age.
I respect your decision not to have kids -I'm not standing on my soap box shouting "go procreate" !- but we're not just making up numbers to burden society with we are trying our best to bring thoughtful, productive, creative individuals to adulthood and improve our lot as a whole.

kind thoughts
Deb