Earth Day
We went to the grocery store this morning and as will often happen, the boys asked for a balloon at the register. Today is Earth Day so instead of their usual red and blue balloons with various colored lollipops attached, they had big bright green balloons with green lollipops. The boys were disappointed and kept asking “why did they give us green balloons? we don’t want green balloons.”
As we drove home I started telling them about how before they were born people didn’t think much about what they did effecting the Earth and the day was created to help bring people’s attention to being better stewards, to recycling, reducing waste and reusing. I was completely caught off guard by how this conversation effected me as huge tears started to roll out of my eyes and my voice choked with emotion. Thinking about how we do try to make every day Earth day in our home but that it’s a constant process and we fall short often. Thinking about the boys’ future and praying that it doesn’t need an Earth Day because human kind is evolved enough to “get it” by their adulthood. That’s one of the reasons I had children, because they give hope to me, to the world.
While I’m not a fan of gimmicks and couldn’t help wondering about all the ways that very grocery store and myself harm the Earth with bad choices, today’s conversation with the boys gave me renewed vision towards a goal for our future. Renewed my baby step goals that I know add up to great things in the long run. I’m not a fan of new year’s resolutions but I’ve found myself setting goals this year related to being a better steward. Producing less trash, buying local produce, meat, eggs, milk, creating my own garden, repurposing clothes. I pray that the boys grow up in a world where we all think about our actions and how they make a difference and influence these little people to always live like this without having to change their patterns.
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Comments
We’ve had fun with worm composting with the children. Both Robyn and I drink a TON of coffee, and the spent coffee grounds make good organic substrate for compost. The worms seem to love it, too!
You can check with your local town/municipality to see if they have an educational program regarding composting. If not, a quick Google check can be very revealing. We get “red wigglers” from Uncle Jim’s Worm Farm, http://www.unclejim.com/ , and the guy seems knowledgeable and friendly.
I have always cared a lot about the environment (hello, my degree is environmental engineering!) but having kids has made me really look at this in a different light. I think of it in terms of what legacy we are leaving them and how do we teach them to respect the earth.