The First Post

Here I am. I'm actually quite surprised that it took me this long to get here.

Why I'm here: I want a place to document the raising of my daughter and my attempt to establish a green, peace-focused household. My daughter turns 1 in less than two weeks and perhaps I'm feeling like her birthday is a perfect occasion to start down this road. It's becoming increasingly clear that she is now at an age when raising her goes beyond keeping her fed and safe. For almost her entire life up until now, our concerns have been to meet her basic needs. We've made decisions as to what to feed her and how to soothe her, for example. These were important decisions, but ones that seemed enclosed in our snug little house with just the three of us to measure the outcomes and to deal with the consequences. But now, the decisions we are beginning to face have repercussions that reach in to the future and outside of our house--into the world at large. She's not a baby anymore; she's no longer oblivious to us beyond the fact that we keep her happy. I'm no longer merely "The Boob." I'm "An Example." She's a young girl with a growing understanding of how the world works. I need to make conscious decisions as to how my husband and I are going to raise her. I need to be aware of how my behavior (practicing what I believe in and not merely professing my beliefs) shapes her developing world-view. What kind of person do we hope her to be? How do we instill the right priorities to get her there? How am I going to keep myself from swearing around her?

This is the aim for this blog. To record my life, all its choices, milestones, mistakes, successes, as I raise my daughter to be a teeny, greenie peacenik.