Today marks the 40th anniversary of Earth Day and according to my six year old you must wear green today. Apparently she's taken the idea of being green literally. As we headed off to work and school this morning I realized we are one green beer away from looking like a band of leprechauns. When you think about it, Earth day and St. Patrick's day are kind of similar. Just as everyone is Irish on St. Patty's Day, we're collectively green today.
I live in the shadows of the very green. This year, Earth Day happens to fall on garbage day in my neighborhood - the day of the week when I feel most inadequate in my quest to keep up with the Joneses, or in our case, the Green's. My neighbor is a passionate environmentalist. She manages to throw away very little trash each week and I'm always paranoid she's peering over at our driveway, taking inventory of just how much we've accumulated. Her weekly audit may be a little off. Frankly, I'm fudging the numbers. I am not above sitting on filled trash bags so they are more compact and thus allowing for more bags per can. "See," I say to myself as I drag my overstuffed cans to the curb, "we're green, too. Just a lighter shade."
Then there's my brother-in-law, the LEED certified green engineer who's building a sustainable home for his family in Florida complete with self-composting toilets. I can't imagine there's enough air freshener in the world (not that I would ever spray chemicals into the air to mask an odor) to make that seem like a good idea.
Face it, the frog was right. It's not always easy being green and sometimes it's downright intimidating. While I might never make it to the ranks of a full-blown environmentalist, each day I take small steps to ensure that I am being a good steward of creation. I don't turn on the lights in the house when the sunshine is streaming in. I don't use the television for background noise. I ended my addiction to paper towel cold turkey a few years ago and now only use rags which I wash in cold water. I shop the local farmer's market during the growing season. I make every attempt to separate my garbage into what's recyclable and what's not. I'm passionate about preserving our Great Lakes. I mostly pack reusable containers in our school lunches and I teach my children that the world is a marvelous place deserving of our love and attention.
It's Earth Day and for the next 24-hours everyone is green. Let's pledge to do what we can to take care of the planet. Even if you're not ecologically advanced you can mark the occasion. I plan to celebrate Earth by enjoying her company. Open a window and let the brisk spring air fill your home, take a walk, notice the beautiful blue of the sky, say a prayer for the Earth and all that inhabit her, and if you can't plant a tree, at least take a few minutes to sit under one.
It's Earth Day. Now go get your green on.
Heaven and the heaven of heavens belong to the LORD your God, the earth with all that is in it. Deuteronomy 10:14
You are so talented! I have to admit the kids all wore green too. However, I couldn't bear to put them back in their st.patty's shirts so poor matt had a green shirt that was about 6 months too small and his belly hung out every time he moved. In the spirit of green it was a hand-me-down from his cousins that somehow we were still able to get over his head and re-use!!!
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