My dear Honeys,

Nothing is more powerful than a mother’s love for her child. When you were born and I looked into your eyes, each of yours, I felt a love so rich, so true. I knew I would do anything to protect you. I still feel that. Nothing can motivate me to action like thinking you need something.

I recently found the courage inside myself to face a truth: all the healthy food and conscious parenting in the world won’t save you from a planet that doesn’t have clean air to breathe or water to drink. I have known and cared about these issues since I was a young teen and have contributed in small ways throughout the years. But somehow I let myself get busy and I stopped really paying attention. I have finally realized that you deserve and need more; you and your children, your friends and their children, the animals and their offspring, you all deserve to inherit a world with a stable climate in which rising waters, droughts, and wildfires are a rare catastrophe, not a norm. To make that happen, we, as a collective, need to make some really big, really hard changes. Personal sacrifices will be required, but more importantly, we will need hope and courage. Without hope that it is possible, without courage to acknowledge the vastness of this crisis, our actions will not spur on the changes required to leave you what you deserve.

I want for you to be able to visit places that remind you of how small you are and to feel awe at the beauty of Nature, not fear; I want for you to be able to watch the sunset in the distance and feel hope for your tomorrow, not despair; I want for you to witness the massive changes we made as a society to protect you and this precious planet and feel inspired to continue the work, not be devastated that it is too late.

Though I am alarmed, I am acting from a place of love and hope. In honesty, there are moments when I get flooded with sadness and concern. I so want for you to inherit a world that uses its resources wisely, to live in a society that thinks ahead on behalf of all concerned and make sound choices. This crisis has given me clarity about how very precious and intricately connected life is. I think every parent believes that their child’s future is worth protecting – because I know the power of this force in me and what I am willing to do, I have hope that, together, we will find our voices and make the changes needed.

I love you, always and forever, my honey bear, honey bunny, and honey pie,

Mom