Fierce Need: A Feeling Parents Understand (Please Share with them!)

As I sit here in the early hours of the day before Thanksgiving and look to the afternoon when all my children will be home, I feel great relief. While the joy of having us all together cannot be matched, there is also a deep comfort in knowing they will be safe and sound at home.
Parenting the college-aged wasn’t what I had expected. I knew I would be sad when they were no longer at home, but I didn’t know how much I would still worry. It started in high school with late night driving. We got through that, but the need to protect my children never seems to wane.
During breast cancer treatment five years ago, I was frightened to learn about the role of endocrine disruptors and carcinogens. A year later, the Institute of Medicine reported that the most vulnerable were women up through their first pregnancies– that chemicals in everyday products disrupted normal systems and set the body up for a breast-cancer diagnosis much later in life. Suddenly, it was about my own daughter and her friends and my students.
I dove into the research with the help of prominent scientists. I learned that the legislation to adequately test these chemicals hasn’t changed since 1976 and that loopholes have allowed 80,000 untested chemicals into our lives. Empowering college-aged women to avoid these chemicals of concern became more than a passion. It became my obligation.
The fierce need to protect my daughter and all of you is a feeling most parents understand. Your family may truly want to help us help you during your most vulnerable years. While you are home for the holiday, please ask them to join us by becoming an Empowerment Patron at https://protectourbreasts.org/empowerment-patron-program/
While I still worry about my children, and I probably always will, knowing we can do something about it gives me great relief.