My mother has excellent taste. While I would never admit that to her face, I'm sure there's no harm in confiding this well-kept family secret here on the internet. Ever since I was very small, she has consistently recommended what would become my favorite books, recipes, movies, TV shows, musicals, restaurants, day trips, and random experiences. Being a headstrong child, followed by an impossible teenager, and finally, a cheeky adult, each one of her recommendations has been met with a firm, "No thanks!" That is, until someone else offers their own acclaim.
In 1995, my mother begged me to watch the movie How to Make an American Quilt. I shook my head, “No.” She pleaded and even offered me money, but I stood firm. Nearly a year later on one Friday night, we went to Blockbuster to pick out a movie. I found her in the New Release section after a lap around the store and held up my chosen movie: How to Make an American Quilt. "Jenny at school said it was good," I explained, looking at the pictures on the back. My mom stared at me, incredulous. I blinked back at her. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously and I tried not to let a bashful smile break through. She pointed to herself, her eyebrows raised in an expression that said, "That was my idea."
That was always the way it happened; a casual mention, a disbelieving look, and a sheepish grin.
Before you start to feel too bad for my poor mother, this is a door that swings both ways. My own recommendations have also been met with resistance, despite the fact that my taste has also proven itself to be quite good over the years. We keep a running tab. While she gets to claim bringing wedge salad, Little Women, Lemon Pepper, and (to my everlasting shame), Hamilton into our lives, I get to claim Doctor Who, sweet potato fries, and Wicked. Wicked was a strong one but still, I would have liked to be the first of us to discover Hamilton.
Our list lengthened quite a bit over lockdown. We found ourselves making little bargains here and there. "I'll watch Love with a Proper Stranger with you if you watch Miss Americana with me." We'd trade songs; I'd pick “Betty”, she'd pick “Alfie”, I'd pick” I Wanna Get Better”, and she'd pick “The Look of Love”.
Along with new music and movies also came time. Time to hear the warning the Earth was giving us. Time to see the devastation we were causing to species that depended on us to protect them. Time to reflect on the decisions we were making. If 2020 taught us anything, it was that everything we do is connected. Every choice we make affects someone else. There is an impact to everything.
Like many people in 2020, I found the endless scrolling of TikTok to be a sweet escape from our shocking reality. I spent a large portion of the year scrolling through dance trends, goofy skits, New York apartment tours, drawing lessons, and major songs sung in minor keys. One night, I found myself watching a woman talk about composting. She said, "Do you know that food scraps that go to a landfill don't break down properly?" She had my attention. I always assumed food scraps in a landfill were harmless. Didn't organic matter just turn back into other organic matter? She went on, "When food waste makes its way into landfills, it produces methane, a gas 28 times stronger than carbon dioxide. With 22 percent of our landfills consisting of wasted food, this is creating a huge problem and making climate change worse."
I tapped into her feed and began to scroll through her composting videos. She introduced a small bin with four wooden legs and three trays stacked on top of one another. It was called an "indoor worm composter" and she assured me several times that it did not smell.
You start with the middle tray. You add newspaper to the bottom and fill with moistened coconut coir and shredded newspaper. Then you add red wiggler worms and watch as they migrate down because they don't like light. Finally you cover them with a worm blanket and the top tray and let them settle in. They like laying eggs in the blanket and can double their population every 90 days. Once they sense their population is becoming too dense, they will naturally stop laying eggs.
The bottom tray is there to catch the liquid, or compost tea, that drips down from the middle tray. A few days after they settle in, you can feed them equal parts "brown" and "green" scraps. Greens are kitchen scraps like apple cores, lettuce ends, and banana peels. Browns are things like shredded paper, egg shells, cotton swabs, egg cartons, and even hair.
The worms eat and poop endlessly, and once that middle tray is full, you stop feeding the middle tray and begin to feed the top tray. As the worms realize new food is above them, they will begin to migrate their way up. This process takes several weeks as the remaining eggs still need to hatch in the middle tray and the babies need time to migrate as well. Once this part is complete, you can use the compost in your garden and wash out the tray. What was the top tray now becomes the middle tray and what was the middle tray now becomes the top tray and the rotation begins again.
The next day I told my mom, "I think I want to get an indoor worm composter." As if on cue, her eye brow rose, and her finger pointed to her chest. I laughed, "I know, I know." She has recommended composting to me no less than a dozen times. I even remember as a child being told, "Did you know you could put kitchen scraps in a container and in a few months, you'd have a rich, nutrient dense soil?" She'd smile at me, holding up a handful of carrot tops, "Isn't that amazing?" I'd nod, eyes fixated on my Tamagotchi.
She often told me stories from her younger years. “On the first Earth Day, we protested excessive food packaging. Cathy and I went into the grocery store and after checking out, we unpacked our food and left all the useless bags and boxes there in a big pile and walked out with our food." I loved imagining my mom as an environmental warrior in 1970; barefoot and marching around Los Angeles.
Our indoor worm composter just arrived this week. She watched as I assembled the trays, her eyebrow still half-raised.
While I can claim gelato, Anthroplogie, and avocado toast, she has Anna Karenina, Mexican wedding cookies, and saving the world.
About the Creator
Enjoyed the story? Support the Creator.
Subscribe for free to receive all their stories in your feed. You could also pledge your support or give them a one-off tip, letting them know you appreciate their work.
Keep reading
More stories from D M Alvarez and writers in Earth and other communities.
Liquid Wisdom
Title: Liquid wisdom; Exploring the Science and Mysteries of Water The Nature of Water Water, the essential element of life, holds within its liquid embrace the secrets of the universe. From the vast oceans that cover our planet to the smallest droplets that dance on a leaf, water embodies a complexity and mystery that transcends our understanding. In this chapter, we embark on a journey to explore the science and mysteries of water, delving into its unique properties, role in the natural world, and profound impact on life.
By Books Keeper3 days ago in Earth
3. 5 unsolved secrets of the world
The case of lead masks - this is the story of two corpses found on Winn Hill near the city of Niteroi in Brazil on August 20, 1966. The name of the case was given to two lead masks found on the faces of the dead. Both corpses were lying on a bed of leaves, dressed in business suits and waterproof raincoats. Next to the bodies lay a notebook in which there was a note with approximately the following content: "16:30 be in a designated place 18:30 swallow the capsule and after which illegible words and the word mask." The dead were local radio engineering is interested in ufology. So one of the police versions was that they were killed by lightning or that they were experimented on and all their money was stolen. However, the first version was rejected by experts and the second version seemed too far-fetched. There were also versions that they were plunged into a trance or something else, a UFO is to blame for their death. However, the death of these people is still shrouded in darkness. Mysteries, see electrical shop number 10, all sorts of legends. Of course, everyone refers to a gas leak, some kind of explosion, an accident, but not. The story of the orange Medan ship begins in 1947 when two American ships received an SOS signal for help. A man who was a member of the crew of a Dutch ship, an orange Medan, a man screamed, everyone is dead and soon it will come for me, then after a strange noise, the sailor said I’m dead and the broadcast stopped. Having come to the aid of the ship in distress, American ships discovered the corpses of all crew members. And despite the fact that they died many hours ago, their body temperature was over 40°. When they tried to tow the ship, it caught fire and exploded, sinking to the bottom. And despite the story of both crews of American ships, many claim that the ship named Orange Medan simply did not, there was, however, there is evidence from several people that their relatives were hired on such a ship and there are even two photographs of this ship, however, neither the purpose of the voyage nor the cause of the disaster is known, how did the crew die. October 21, 1978, excellent flying weather plane from Rabin with a pilot named Frederic Valenti who has more than 50 hours of flying practice behind him. In the middle of the flight, the pilot contacts the base and asks if there are military aircraft flying near him, receiving a negative answer he began to talk about the fact that that big plane is flying over it as if it was starting some kind of game for 6 minutes while there is a dialogue between the pilot and the dispatcher, the connection is constantly lost and the pilot coughs more and more, and then in 1912 the connection with the pilot stops, the search teams sent to search for the plane, nothing they didn’t find anything other than an oil stain on the bass strait, and that stain was not the plane’s fuel; an interesting fact was the pilot’s last words that it was not an airplane. However, knowing about his passion for ufology, one can assume that this is all mind games, however, Australian ufologists consider this one of the most reliable evidence of contact of aliens with us is still not clear what happened to Valentich. However, among cynics, thoughts of suicide and faking death prevail Although the plane and pilot were never found. Canadian Oak Island hides many secrets, one of them - this is the possible discovery of untold riches in the so-called money mine. The history of the discovery of this mine is somewhat different: someone says that children aged about 16 years old stumbled upon it in 1975, someone says that an old sailor who drowned in 1805 spoke about the mine and treasures when his grandson found a map of the island from my grandfather and took it to my grandfather’s colleagues, who without hesitation promised to help. However, it burned down along with all the documents. The very next night, under the ashes, a deep mine was discovered, which many generations of treasure hunters began to dig up; they went deeper into the mine. However, despite the fact that 60 m had been dug, it was not possible to find the treasure, whether there were treasures there and whose they actually are still remains a mystery. However, interest in the money mine is fading away every day and brought only a few stories on a similar topic. Yes, a documentary series about the excavations of the mine on Oak Island. One of the most famous serial killers acted in London in the second half of 1888, the Whitechapel killer, aka Jack the Ripper, is one of the most famous names of a serial maniac. In addition, the maniac has many uncaught victims. However, the number ranges from 1 to 15, although only five victims of the Ripper are considered canonical; they were prostitutes whose throats he strangled and cut; an interesting feature of the criminal was that he was sure that he would not be caught; this is evidenced by the letters he wrote to the police; there were many letters received. However, only three were definitely sent by Jack the Ripper, by the way, the name appeared from the first letter; the most notable ones are considered the third letter, called from hell, delivered with half a kidney; the letter says that the second half was eaten by a maniac; there were many suspects in the case; however, it was known for sure about the surgical skills of the maniac; nevertheless, Jack also disappeared suddenly, how he appeared and it is still unknown who he was and why he disappeared. Did he die, did he go to prison, did he escape from London, all these theories apparently will remain theories without shedding any light on this mysterious killer.
By Triumphant7 days ago in Earth
I want to grow
I want to grow and I’m going to grow. I’m not going to be this version of myself anymore and you won’t know who I become. You won’t talk to her, or be by her side as she goes through life— you won’t know her. Her heart won’t even remember the small moments that’ve clung to it for so long. I’ll watch her embrace a new life that has nothing to do with you, and there won’t be a space waiting like there has been for far too long.
By Aathavi Thanges4 days ago in Psyche
Comments
There are no comments for this story
Be the first to respond and start the conversation.