Earth

"i thank You God for most this amazing
day:for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky; and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes" - ee cummings

Earth Day is a great holiday, and I love how it comes right before Easter.  It's like a long, 3 day weekend of life and flowers and abundance.  And I even feel like celebrating, since we got good sleep last night and are on the mend, now that Maeve has medicine for her ear infection (Momma was right!) and I broke my fever. 

I have always been a granola kinda gal, I think it comes from having a scientist dad, a quasi-botanist mom, a Boulder education, and a love of nature.  I got Ranger Rick magazine when I was little, and all that stuff stuck with me.  And I love how much easier some green habits have become; I don't have to sort my recycling, I can opt out of paper bills, and since I don't work and Shaun takes the bus, we use about a tank of gas every two weeks.

I admit that there are ways in which I am not so earth-friendly: I (shudder) use disposable diapers, I buy Maeve's organic baby food instead of making it, and we can't afford an electric or hybrid car.  A lot of these things come down to expense for our family, although to be honest, the diaper thing is purely convenience.  I do want to throw in, however, that most cloth diapers require 2 washes to get clean, and that's a lot of extra water for laundry.  It seems to me like disposables and cloth are about even on the 'good-for-the Earth' scale.  But more power to all you cloth ladies, you're amazing!

So since we're recovering today, I'm not going to take Maeve to the park to go get her fingers in the dirt, although we will definitely go outside to water my plant, General Stanley.  However, today I hold in my heart this beautiful blue-green place we call home.  May I love this place with as full a heart as my daughter clearly does - she still waves to trees, even potted plants at the doctor's office.