Always an interesting time of year. What are your favorite things to pretend to be?
Here are some of our Halloween Costumes over the years – which do you think is best?
Tigger
Lady Bug
Ariel
Thing one and Thing two
Cinderella
Minnie Mouse
Witches
Wonder Woman and Super Woman
Betsy Ross and Super Girl
King Hendricks
The AIP Crew
My six-year-old was asking me about Earth Day. I explained that it is a day to remind us of the power of mother nature, a day to remember that we have to take care of our natural resources, and a day to think about our actions as they impact others and future generations. She then told me that she knows the solution to the problem. “You just have to stop being lazy and fix things.”
It does seem that simple on paper to me as well. If we just quit fighting over who caused it, or who should pay for it, or how to fix it, and we all just try to be better, a little better, then we will all be a lot better off. If we all reduced our energy use by 30% annually, what would happen to the amount of foreign oil we have to import each year. What would that do to the mercury levels in the air from burning coal? What would that do to the increasing rate of illness we find in certain sectors of society? What would that do for mountain tops in West Virginia? What would that do to the quality of drinking water available to all of us?
I know, I have already heard the argument that you cannot afford all those expensive upgrades. BUT, What if we all cut our water usage by installing a $3 aerator on our sinks? Would that reduce our water bills, water consumption, our environmental impact across the country. If ALL of us make a small change, wouldn’t it make a huge impact?
If we look past the expensive solutions and every household changed one light bulb, or even just turned off the lights in rooms that they are not using all the time. Or if car lots turned off their lights after 2 am each night. Or if you cut one car trip out of your weekly schedule each week. What if we each just did one thing, would you see the difference?
I am ready for Change. Real Change. Change that makes the world a better place for my children and your children. I am ready to make a difference. Will you just stop being lazy with me and fix things?
I have been accused many times of not sleeping in order to do the amount of work that I accomplish each week. I promise you that while I am involved in many activities, events, and efforts, I do get plenty of sleep. I do worry though that I am sacrificing things in my life that I will regret later. I worry about the little things that I don’t spend time doing, like attending social events to better get to know people in the community. Anyone that has seen me knows that I have not given proper attention to being healthy. While I don’t have many of the vices that one may suffer with in modern society, I do have a lack of desire for exercise and eating healthy and I worry what this will result in over the coming years. However, My biggest fear is that I am not spending enough time with my family. I struggle with balancing life: being Dad.
Over the past several weeks there has been a change in the normal pattern that I hope to continue. I have worked hard to get the garden set up. The girls have helped me with the process, sometimes actively, sometimes taking breaks, sometimes forgetting completely about the garden and just running around the yard. We have also enjoyed several family outings these last several weeks that were focused on my daughters. Last Saturday, the girls dressed up like Thing 1 and Thing 2 and we drove 1 1/2 hours to Hooville (Charlottesville) to meet the Cat in the Hat and watch a 30 minute cartoon on the big screen at the Paramount Theater. A couple of weeks ago we attended Annie at Four County Players, staying up very late for the girls and also me, but I will never forget the way they both had their eyes glued to the stage the entire time. Even better, thanks to our friend, Tracie Skipper, the girls got to meet the amazing actress that played Annie after the play. (by the way, I highly recommend making a trip to Barboursville to see a play at Four County Players, they do an incredible job). It is hard to find balance in life to be the best dad, best architect, best husband, best committee member, but that is my goal. While I know something always has to give, I can assure you that I will never give up trying to be the best.