Whitney Fleming

INTRODUCTION Biodiversity conservation is about changing people's behavior as much as it is about preserving species and ecosystems (Mascia et al., 2003). But the same processes that endanger biodiversity, such as urbanization, are increasingly isolating the majority of the world's population from nature experiences (Pett et al., 2016).

I knew when I had kids that I would be dealing with the building and deconstruction of their friendships for the long term. Why on earth didn’t it occur to me that I’d also be dealing with my own relationships with the other children’s parents and caregivers? If it was just one thing—growing a friendship with said child’s parents because our kids are friends—that would be easy enough. It’s not just one thing. The combination of scenarios is plentiful.

Someday, we’ll be sitting at a restaurant we’ve never been to. We’ll share a bottle of Brunello because we always said that 10 years from now, we would. I’ll be wearing pants that cost more than a turkey sandwich because our children will be old enough not to spill on me anymore, and lipstick because no one was jumping on my bed as I was getting ready. I may even wear heels, though Lord knows I’ll need help walking in them, it’s been so long.