It was something I saw on a colleague’s Facebook feed: “Be a Good Ancestor!” She was exhorting her friends to fight fossil fuel infrastructure — the construction of natural gas pipelines.

I smiled. That’s cute. Being an ancestor.

Then I stopped scrolling, to think. I’ve been doing the work of fighting pollution and climate change, and I’ve been doing it for my three kids. But I had never thought of my own identity as an ancestor.

It made me feel a little bigger. Like my heart was swelling. I realized that I was proud to be an ancestor. I wanted to live up to that noble role.

Yesterday, Parents.com posted my article about this idea. I am grateful to get to share my views on climate change with this new audience.