An Earth Day Wish for You…

Last year, as my husband cut up old cardboard boxes to line the paths between our raised garden beds, I found this in our yard.

It stuck with me, and I’ve loved this photo ever since. I’m not sure why. But today, it’s the inspiration for my Earth Day wish for you. 

In honor of Earth Day, I wish you a long life full of all things beautiful, natural and pure, and good health so that you may enjoy them to the fullest. I wish you nourishment for your mind, body and soul, a peaceful spirit and fruitful labor. I wish you the strength and determination to stand by the things you believe in, even when you stand alone, and I wish you the wonderful feeling of pride that comes with every small step toward a better world.  I wish this, and much more, for your children, and their children.

And, as the photo says, I wish you an abundance of fresh thought – because there is nothing more important to the future of our planet than fresh thought. 

Happy Earth Day, everyone! Love your Mother! 😀

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How are you celebrating Earth Day? I’d love to know what this day means to you.

Happy Earth Day!

Ok, so it’s not really Earth Day anymore, but it’s still Earth Week! Yay for Earth Week!

Why is it that everyone I know had to work on Earth Day? For what it’s worth, I really think this day should rank right up there with the paid holidays. Shouldn’t everyone be out celebrating this great planet, or volunteering their time to help it? I think yes.

Talk about your feel-good moments! I was thrilled that my day off just happened to fall on Thursday, so I could spend the day celebrating with Finn. Since we try to live consciously and take care of the Earth where we can every day, our day wasn’t really that far out of the ordinary…but we (I) did try to spend the day reflecting on the importance of Earth Day, how I’m going to teach Finn to respect it, and why we do what we do even when it sometimes makes our lives a little harder.

In the morning, we went for a 3-mile walk in preparation for this Saturday’s Race Against Racism 5K in Harrisburg. To think I used to be a regular spin devotee! I think those classes would kill me now, but I’m getting back in shape little by little. It was a stellar morning, and we barely saw a single car!

I let my hair air-dry, which I’ve been trying to do on my days off and any other time I can get away with it. 

Dried all my laundry outside in the breeze. I’m not sure why doing laundry makes me so happy, but it really does.

While dinner was cooking, we took some time to walk around the yard and let Finn feel all the leaves, plants and flowers. We try to do this every day, so he can feel lots of textures that aren’t plastic.

I prepared a quick vegan meal in honor of the occasion: baked yams stuffed with spicy tomatoes, black beans, garlic and onions. I wish I had planned ahead to cook the yams over a fire, but we had to settle for the oven.

 I added a little bit of extra cumin to up the smoky flavor, which complemented the sweetness of the yam. Although a bit overbaked (a little too much time looking at the plants, I guess), the whole thing turned out well, but very orange. I think it needed a little something else–maybe something green. Note to self for next time…

 

 

 

Not a great pic, I know. But it was yummy and healthy!

 

All in all, our Earth Day was pretty much the same as every other day, and that makes me happy. I’m proud of the changes my family has made over the past several years as well as the ones we plan to make, and I’m super proud to be living consciously and raising my son to do the same. 

And, courtesy of the fine folks at Earth’s Best, here’s a little eCard for you! 

Let’s make every day Earth Day!

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How did you celebrate Earth Day?