So, the weird April snow that we had didn’t last too long, thankfully. The cold weather did bum me out though, honestly. I am in total springtime mode and I really need the weather to participate fully. I am just done with going out in the cold weather, so we were sort of homebound for a few days.
I saw this meme and thought it perfectly summed up how I try to live my life – I know some people make family “mission statements” – maybe I should just print this and hang it up in our house as ours? Lol.
Speaking of the Earth the other day was Earth Day. I don’t usually go crazy on Earth Day, we just read a few books and I had hoped to have a picnic outside. But you know, surprise cold. So, I set one up in our house. I put a blanket down and surrounded it with plants from around the house and we hung out there for a bit reading about some important people – most notably Jane Goodall and Johnny Appleseed, and also Greta Thunberg. Politics aside, that little girl has accomplished so much and is a fantastic example of the power of kids, honestly. I think kids can get overlooked so often and dismissed, when sometimes their voices have so much to add to the conversation! I had also ordered little Jane and Jubilee peg dolls for Wyatt a million years ago and had them waiting to give to him when we finally read about Jane. He really liked Jubilee. But who wouldn’t, it is so cute!
We also flipped through one of my books, The Lost Words by Robert Macfarlane. I love this book, it’s little poems, and gorgeous illustrations by Jackie Morris. But the inspiration behind the book sort of breaks my heart. The lost words are the words about nature that have been dropped from the Oxford Junior Dictionary, words like acorn and magpie and otter, of all things! Willow, newt, fern! These words have been replaced by words pertaining to technology, words like cut-and-paste, and blog. How come there is not room for all? Are we going to raise a generation of children that when presented with an acorn don’t know what it is, or the word for it? That won’t know that from just that tiny little seed, a whole giant oak tree grows? Who don’t see little fairy caps, or when reading Peter Pan, not know what he gave to Wendy as a kiss? Our house is filled with nature and our collections, acorns and ferns and lizards and feathers and rocks and yes, a praying mantis. I have ants on the way and this week we are making worm jars. When I think of Wyatt’s education, I want it to include everything, including a love of the little things and the nature that surrounds us.
Tomorrow is my mom’s birthday – last year we were under a stay-at-home order, so we are happy that this year we can have cake together in my brother’s yard. I am looking forward to it!
I will leave you with the song that Billy and I have had to listen to a billion times this week. It is Wyatt’s new favorite, but it is an old song.. you probably know it. (for the record, my favorite Beatle is George.)
Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs.. 