Father’s Day.
It’s the one day of the year we’re encouraged to acknowledge the father’s in our lives. Not just our own fathers, but the fathers we have chosen for our children.
So on this Father’s Day I’d like to share a few things about the father I chose for my children. His name is Paul and he really is quite the ecoceptional dad!
So what is it that makes him worthy of this title?
It could be his green thumb.
Soon after we first moved in together all those years ago I expressed my wish for a veggie garden and this wish became his command. Paul grew up in an Italian family and his father was custodian of the veggie patch but sadly this skill wasn’t passed onto him. That didn’t stop him however! Paul set to work researching gardening tips and calling his Dad and before too long we had a veggie patch the envy of most of our friends.
Or maybe it’s how he is embracing his new culinary skills
Traditionally the kitchen has always been my domain, but our investment in a Thermomix last year has changed this to a degree. We now cook even more food from scratch, and sometimes, I don’t keep on top of it all. So, I showed Paul the ropes and now he confidently whips up home-made dips, bread and pizza bases like he’s been doing it all his life.
Or his cloth nappying skills
A few years ago, when expecting our first child I announce we’ll be using cloth nappies. Paul said “okay”. Nothing more.
Five years on and these days Paul clips them all back together and packs them away under the nappy change table after each wash. And due to me suffering from carpal tunnel in both wrists, he does 99% of nappy changes when he is home to give me a break.
Or even his detergent making skills!
Paul is also Mr Home Detox Boot Camp and happily helps replenish our home-made laundry and kitchen detergents when stocks are low. Okay, so initially he didn’t seem too pleased that I was adding another thing to do in our household, but it didn’t take him long to realise it only takes a few minutes every few weeks and we have the benefit of living in a chemical-free home.
But mostly he is an Ecoceptional Dad because he supports (and allows) me to be an Ecoceptional Mum
We all know this parenting gig is a marathon and the eco-parenting gig can feel like an extra long one at times. It needs to be a team effort.
I have heard many times that the best thing a Dad can do for his children is to love and support the mother and this couldn’t be truer of Paul.
Our kids are so lucky to have Paul as their father and role model. And indeed, I am even luckier to have him stand beside me on my journey through life.
So when you sit back and ask “How on earth does she do it all? Run a family, an eco home and a business?”
Know that I don’t.
I was lucky enough to marry an Ecoceptional Dad.
Is there an Ecoceptional dad in your life? I’d love you to share what it is that makes him ecoceptional! Please comment below or upload pics onto Instagram social media with #ecoceptionaldad and tag me at @lauratrottadotcom. I’d love to see!
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Laura Trotta is one of Australia’s leading home sustainability experts. She has a Bachelor of Environmental Engineering, a Masters of Science (in Environmental Chemistry) and spent 11 years working as an environmental professional before creating her first online eco business, Sustainababy, in 2009. She has won numerous regional and national awards for her fresh and inspiring take on living an ‘ecoceptional’ life (including most recently winning the Brand South Australia Flinders University Education Award (2015) for the north-west region in SA and silver in the Eco-friendly category of the 2015 Ausmumpreneur Awards). With a regular segment on ABC Radio and with her work featured in publications like Nurture Parenting and My Child Magazine, Laura is an eco thought leader who’s not afraid to challenge the status quo. A passionate believer in addressing the small things to achieve big change, and protecting the planet in practical ways, Laura lives with her husband and two sons in outback South Australia. 
