22 Earth Day Lessons from my mom and grandmother

Every Earth Day my in-box overflows with press releases - everything from sustainable city lists to eco-friendly underwear. But this year, my heart was urging me to do something different.

My maternal grandmother, whom I called "Mama Sue", was born and raised on a farm in Garner, Texas. She had 10 brothers and a little sister named Jessie, who died at just 10. Because of her upbringing Mama Sue behaved in ways that sometimes embarrassed me or made me laugh. I regret that. She became a respected geometry teacher in Alice, Texas and made delicious apple pies.

Her only daughter, my mom - who went by Kathie, then Kathy, then Kathleen - also became a teacher. she married a New Jersey Jew, and I grew up on Walt Disney and dreidels, not the morning milking. Mom had great style, but never lost her country girl ways. She once had to kill a Buick-sized cockroach in my room in Alice because her citified daughter was squealing. Mom was 77.

Here are their 22 lessons:

1. Be frugal - Mama Sue.

2. Crochet afghans to stay warm - Mama Sue

3. Enjoy the ocean and the beach - Mom taught me the beauty of the Pacific with trips to dozens of California beaches, while Mama Sue and I combed South Padre Island for shells we'd glue to cigar boxes.

4. Buy Mrs. Meyer's cleaning products - Mom especially loved the Lilac Kitchen Basics.

5. Grow a garden - Mom taught me how to grow peas in her lush, tropical yard in 2017. I had bought a single pot at HEB. She laughed, then came home with five more pots the next day. After I moved she sent me a mature pea, which I froze until I moved.

6. Dry clothes on a line - Mama Sue strung up all the clothes. Even though I still recall those stiff, scratchy towels, I had an early role model for environmentalism.

7. Eat less beef - Mom was an early adopter of tofu, although in later years we did enjoy many-a-Whataburger!

8. Burn candles - Mom burnt a candle or candles every morning. When I awakened, nothing was sweeter than that glow in the main room.

9. Sew your own clothes - Mama Sue and Mom. The former sewed most of the family clothes, I think, whereas Mom mainly created special matching outfits in the Sixties. No doubt, being a single mom Mom did not have the time to fire up the ol' Singer!

10. Collect shells (Mama Sue) and paint rocks (Mom). A treasured possession is a flat rock from Mom with a special message.

11. Visit natural parks - Mom. From Yosemite to Mt. Lassen, Arches to Big Sur, life with Mom was punctuated by outdoorsy splendour. A favorite snippet from a family video shows sweet Mom in her "Go Climb a Volcano" sweatshirt.

12. Take walks - Mom.

13. Eat at home - Mama Sue. She only liked to eat out for Sunday "dinner", which means lunch to you Yankees.

14. Bike to work - After my folks divorced, my brother, Mom and I moved to Livermore to be near my uncle, a nuclear physicist. Mom only had a bike for about a year before she bought a car. Her ride to work was several miles.

15. Turn off the telly and read - Mama Sue had a gorgeous collection of encyclopedias I'd pore over as I leaned back in her easy chair. Mom was always reading, often "parts of a lot of books", and could quote everyone from Dickens to the Dalai Llama.

10. Eat leftovers - both women.

11. Turn down the heat - Mom. We used to argue about how warm I needed it, with she accusing me of having thin veins. After she died, I mused about an article she had posted on Twitter about turning down the heat unless you want to grill sausage on the radiator. Turns out, it is far healthier for our bodies to sleep in a cold room and just pull the covers up. And the planet will thank you.

12. Freeze everything - Mom probably learnt from Mama Sue. I remember the freezer always being full, with everything from bread to beef. Mom tried preserve-making once or twice, but no doubt Mama Sue was the master.

13. Write long letters - Mama Sue. THIS IS A LOST ART. I know kids today are not taught cursive writing. Please teach your son or daughter how to write their name in cursive, and even a letter. These documents are among my most valuable, and I regret losing many of my maternal grandmother's letters. I also have a boxful of my paternal grandmother Mimi's letters.

14. Learn to swim.

- Mom put me in swim classes as a kid and I made it all the way to junior life guard. Mama Sue swam as a young woman, likely in a nearby river or lake.

15. Reuse books - I love my uncle's philosophy text from college because he marked it up. These old books are earth-friendly and are sentimental gems.

16. Only buy one family car and one truck - Mama Sue and Pop, my grandpa who died when I was three. Pop used the truck to start a junk business with Uncle Norman, who was autistic. He also needed the truck for hunting. One car was enough to get my grandparents around town and to the school where they both worked.

17. Take the entire family on a road trip - Mama Sue introduced the concept. We would traverse the breadth of wild Texas, stopping for bathroom or snack breaks, (unfortunately) squashing the occasional armadillo along the way.

18. Do yoga - Mom.

19. Meditate - Mom.

20. Embroider - Mama Sue.

21. Forgo sugar - Mama Sue and Mom. After Mom died I got her dental records. A friend quipped, "I'm jealous of her teeth."

22. Teach the children well - Mom, a fifth-grade teacher, was beloved by her students. After she passed, a peer told me Mom had "made me feel heard". She taught her students how to write haikus and perform in "Hamlet", while going home and teaching my brother and me the proper rules of grammar and how to grow carrots.