Save the planet--HAVE CHILDREN!!!

Today I started a unit in science with my daughters about plants. We learned about germination, and we are going to make germination bags to watch how seeds actually germinate. We then went outside and started preparing our garden spot for planting (which will hopefully take place within the next two weeks).

All of the talk about seeds, plants, and growing started me thinking about children. There is a lot of talk about saving the planet these days. Some people seem to think that it is more important to plant a tree than to have a family. This is what I think-- I am going to grow children who can plant hundreds of trees in their lifetimes. What a wonderful thing it is to have children to teach and share my values with. I hope the things that are important to me will someday be important to them. If being environmentally aware is important to someone, then why not have children and teach them how to take care of the earth? Instead of worrying about having too many people, why don't we focus our efforts on teaching the next generation how to do things better than we have done?

Planting a tree is a worthy endeavor. Trees provide shade, shelter, food, and homes. You have to take care of a tree, water it, prune it, and protect it from bugs that would destroy. Children are a lot like seeds. You watch them grow, you nurture them, care for them, and try to keep them from the harms of the world. When they are grown they can build homes and families, provide shelter, food, and shade for their family members and others. But they can do more than a tree, for they can wrap their arms around you and love you back. They start giving that love back from the moment they are born.

I plan on planting trees throughout my life. I will do far more for the future, however, through my efforts as a mother.