Thursday, April 22, 2010

Every day is Earth Day

I can't say that I do anything in particular for Earth Day.
Generally, it's just another day for me and often I forget about it.  
Over at TJ's blog, Any Given Moment, she listed all of the things that they do to help the earth,
which made me think about all the things we do every day that have become such a habit 
that we no longer think of them as special "save-the earth" measures, just normal life.
We do these things not only to save the earth,
but also to save money and to make our personal environment safer and healthier.
I kind of doubt that anyone would look at me and think... 
"There goes one of those earthy-crunchy, tree-hugging, granola-eatin, save-the-earth people.", 
but I guess I am all of those things at least to a small degree.

Certainly, there are any number of areas that I could improve on, 
but I figure we all need to make the changes that make sense to us and works for our families.
Last month, our family enjoyed participating in Earth Hour for the second time.  
Honestly, I don't know how much the earth benefits from my turning out all the house lights for one hour, 
but my family benefited immensely.
We turned off all of the lights, the t.v., and the computer,
lit lots of candles (nearly burnt down the house!)
and found activities that we could enjoy together like playing the piano and playing a game.  
I don't remember why, but I know that we giggled and laughed until tears rolled down our faces.
So, saving the earth brought us together as a family. 
Can't complain about that.
Maybe my decision not to use chemicals on the lawn means that we have a few more dandelions in my yard than my neighbors do,
but that's okay. 
I rather prefer it that way.

So, by playing with the kids, cleaning the house, and enjoying the pretty misplaced flowers
(weeds...whatever)
I guess I celebrate Earth Day every day.
Well, what do you know!

10 comments:

Grammie/Mom said...

I don't know why, but I had tears in my eyes as I read this. I love seeing the kids having a fun time without the tv, computer etc. Tonight I'll have to make my laundry soap and now I have to repair my makeup!!

Jientje said...

I agree, every day should be Earth Day!

Brown Family Blog said...

that is awesome!

Unknown said...

Yay!! I am so happy you are coming along on the I Heart Faces photo walk. I look forward to shooting with you!

T.J. said...

I agree with Mom up there- I was rather moved by this post Colleen (and not because of the shout out, mind you ;) ). So so glad you shared and I especially loved the view of Earth Hour in your house what a great tradition to be following!!!

Anonymous said...

Fabulous collage you put together and those dandelion images are lovely.

Unknown said...

Wonderful photos... everyday should be Earth Day...

Jess said...

Maybe that's why I couldn't get into Earth Day. It is just an ordinary day for us too. Things that are just so second nature and normal for us, really are a big deal.

I would have to add a clothesline to the list as well. ;) And probably many more things we both didn't think of because they are just what we do. Everyday.

So fun to see how many of us make our own laundry soap. I figure that is one thing that makes me extra wierd!

Elizabeth said...

my dear, crunchy colleen lolol.... i love the collage of the kids that larger pic of Q on the bottom is beautiful she's so pretty! and i like the reflection of the light onto Beethoven in the pic next to her :D

Elizabeth said...

Oh yeah and you should make earth hour a once a month thing :D