by Elizabeth Small There are times when my children?s capacity for empathy amazes me. Like the time my eldest daughter sat out unprompted from a much anticipated ?bounce house? simply to keep a friend with an injury from feeling left out.?Other times, I wonder what kind of future sociopath I am raising when asking the same daughter to bring me a cookie, responding by handing … [Read more...]
Cafeteria Crunchy – Welcome Imperfect Environmentalists
by Elizabeth Small - "STOP! I need you to roll down my window! Now, mama! Please!?" My 4-year-old-daughter pleaded in shouts from the backseat. Fearing she was sick, I quickly pulled the car over and opened her window. Straightaway, she popped her little head out of the window, and shouted: "You! Over there!" She yelled to a 40-something, rough-and-tumble man as he tossed … [Read more...]
The Rubber Handcuffs: Your Fitness Tracker is Not Making You Crazy, You?re Nuts Already and The Tracker is Simply Confronting You About it
by Elizabeth Small In order to understand the competitive nature of my family, you need to know one thing: As a kid, the popular game ?Pictionary? had to be unceremoniously removed from our family home because it ended one too many times with tears, accusations of shortcomings in moral character, and veiled threats of retribution. There are families that play games together, … [Read more...]
The Importance of Covering Mirrors – Being beautiful in nature
by Elizabeth Small I try to model a positive body image for my daughters. I never once commented on the massacre that was my postpartum body (at least, not within earshot). And I didn?t even flinch when my daughter told a room full of strangers, ?My Mama?s belly is so ?squishy.?? Yet despite my best efforts, I still struggle with consistency. Recently my 4-year-old … [Read more...]
Vermicomposting: How I Learned to Love My Worms
By Elizabeth Small ?Mama! Come see what Daddy got us!? My 4-year-old daughter tugged at my pant leg, wide-eyed and pulsing, head darting about like a prairie dog, the way little kids do when they are at peak excitement. Clasped in my husband?s hands was a tab-top, brown bag, the kind that is certain to contain coffee or fancy chocolates. My mouth salivated as I walked … [Read more...]
SubUrban Outdoors: the new victory garden
by Elizabeth Small "The destiny of nations depends on the manner in which they feed themselves." ? Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, 18th-century culinary expert If you were born during or around World War II, chances are good you remember Victory Gardens as a patriotic, home-front effort through which private citizens planted food to mitigate pressure on the country?s supply … [Read more...]
SubUrban Outdoors: Praying the long road
by Elizabeth Small Spring has come to New England, but in name only, because winter is behaving like the boyfriend that just won?t accept a breakup. In the beginning, things were thrilling: Cozy nights by the fire, hikes, sled rides full of giggling. But winter and I have grown apart. I want to garden, nature wants to snow. I want to live a life with minimal waste, and this … [Read more...]
SubUrban Outdoors: The Small family explores a new way of living
by Elizabeth Small Note: Elizabeth will be sharing her family's journey with Outdoor Families Magazine readers each month in a new column titled "SubUrban Outdoors." We hope you find her daily struggles and triumphs to be both enlightening and inspiring, and perhaps even humorous. ~Erin Kirkland, editor My husband recently confessed that he decided to marry me … [Read more...]
