Earth Day

Well, I knew Earth Day 2007 was coming this week, but I didn’t realize it was yesterday. When it dawned on me today, I felt a bit disappointed I had done nothing to officially mark the day – although I continue to work at being mindful of caring for our planet, people, and resources on a daily basis. But then, I realized my family actually celebrated the day about as effectively as anyone could. On Saturday and Sunday, my wife and son and I were gathered with a group of other families from our church, having our annual family retreat at Camp Smiling Acres. And if you ask anyone who attended, they will tell you where my son was the whole time – on the big pile of dirt. So, I guess we really did have a great Earth Day awareness activity. With no television in sight, out in the natural beauty of camp, we celebrated with him as he conquered the “mountain.” And it gave me a deep sense of hope and contentment, knowing my son is more enthralled by a big mound of earth than by the latest toy and gaming gadgetry. All it cost us was a couple pairs of socks! (Trust me, anyone who could have brought those socks back to whiteness deserves their own infomercial.)