Well... if I'm thinking about some sort of writing career I'm really going to have to step up my game. I can't believe that my last post was over 10 days ago!!! I'm having difficulty carving out the quiet time that I need to think, plan, read and regurgitate. It's not even summer yet?!?? Imagine what it will be like when ALL three kids are home all day. And to think that I have been anxious for the end of the school year (is anyone else over spelling lists, AR books and schedules??). But, it's always like that at this time of the year. By August I'll be counting down the days until they can return to some structure and discipline. However, in the meantime we have planned a very low key (I say that now... but watch it all fill up right before our eyes...) summer full of FREE time to play, swim, visit and relax. After the debacle that was last summer, we didn't want to make things too planned out for this one. The kids biggest complaint is always that they don't have enough time to "play" so this summer will be all about playing. (hopefully for everyone! and maybe I can fit in some time for Janelle to teach me how to mill my own grains so that I can start making bread on a regular basis... not that I haven't enjoyed keeping Milton's in business, mind you!) As I have slid farther down the slippery slope of being an informed consumer, it amazes me how many people are hungry for the same knowledge and are making so many of the same types of changes. I learn so much from the readings, internet searches (can't wait to learn more about marinating my red meat in wine, Sarah!) and lectures (Cheryl, I'm not even sure that I want to know all that you are learning...) that they attend to. So many people yearning for the same things have got to have an influence on the products that we use every day. In light of all of that, I have decided that this will be the weekend that I set up shop in our bathroom with Darin's laptop to investigate all of the products that we have been using (probably with the help of the EWG's skindeep database... they rate the safety of MANY commercial products based on a variety of factors. Caution... it can be VERY overwhelming!). Darin rolls his eyes when I talk about this, but he has been doing his own investigating and found some very reasonable, safe men's products. He likes to pretend that he isn't that concerned (read:crazy, he just lives with a crazy person), but I know that he is 100% on board! We've even discussed where we can discreetly place our future rain barrel and composter with the landscape architect that is creating our future outdoor space. Stick around, it's only going to get more and more interesting!Anyhoo... a much-belated update to the Race for the Cure in Schenley Park last Sunday. Soooo many thanks to those of you who donated to our team or me specifically. We raised just about $1800! yay!! There were 14 of us in our group (a challenge just to stay together in the mass of humanity that turned out!) and we elected to walk the "run/walk" because running would've been almost impossible and many of our group were planning only to walk (Sara, just the fact that you got up at that God-forsaken hour was enough). Gina, Kelly and I are thinking about enlisting our husbands and doing the chip-timed race (which, I hope would involve actual running...) another year. However, I'm grateful that this was the catalyst that got me running again, even though we didn't actually run in the race. It was a very chilly day (fine for me and my vicious hot flashes...) but everyone was properly bundled for the weather so we survived. It was very overwhelming to see the sheer number of people who have been personally touched by breast cancer. I think that I heard that there were 37,000 there... and that is just as a result of ONE type of cancer... wow. Survivors had pink t-shirts (and I do have one... I just wasn't ready to wear it. I don't know if that makes sense if you haven't been in these shoes, but I just wasn't...) and many people wore signs on their backs to say who they were there for. For me, it just solidified my resolve to make choices that will hopefully help to protect my family from further intimate contact with cancer. I realize that nothing is a guarantee and that there is no "perfect", but I'm increasingly convinced that making healthier choices is worth the cost - be that time, effort or expense. The ways inwhich choosing this lifestyle mimic our Christian walk continue to be impressed on both Darin and I. When we mentioned to our landscaper that we'd like to use as many local, sustainable plants as possible, that we want to avoid chemical pesticides and fertilizers, etc. he said that there are many effective things that you can do but they usually require more work or attention. Light bulb moment... Choosing to live this way is often in direct opposition to the "world" where we are continually encouraged to do things faster and easier with immediate results. In all of this, I'm realizing that I never really wanted to just follow the crowd (does anyone remember the bandanna?? ...that I tied around my leg in a lame effort to blaze my own fashion trail... I know you do, Heidi... ha ha!!) and more than ever, I want to be and do my life differently. I'm excited to make changes, to investigate things for myself and to just live more simply. I'm sure that I won't always succeed and that I will often be enticed back to convenience and over-scheduling, but I'm ready to take little steps every day that will make a difference.
