Waste: Day 9

Today the kids and I spent the afternoon in the city. We had to pick Eric up from work, so we decided to make an afternoon of it. We met up with Eric for lunch at the Blue City Deli… I highly recommend it! It was super yummy, and very Mom and Pop. We then headed to the zoo for the afternoon while we waited for Eric to get off of work. We do the STL zoo a lot. We love it! This totally hit the mark with using local attractions as entertainment, so off we went.

We spent the next several hours at the zoo… face painting for all my little people was a rare treat for the day, everyone got to choose which animal they would like to see, and then a carousel ride and it was time to pick up daddy from work. Fun afternoon and some major cool points for mom (because of the face paint that I always say no to was a yes for today ;)).

A lizard, panda, colorful kitty, and tiger at the zoo.

I have also started washing all the dishes by hand rather than using the dishwasher since the purchase of the drain rack. This is definitely saving in the water department… not so much in the time department. 

This is what your counter tops look like when you don't wash dishes all day

Fact 1: you can not let the dishes pile up for an entire day and expect to get them done in 10 minutes when washing by hand. 

Fact 2: when allowing people under the age of 4 to assist… there will be more water on you and the floor than in the actual sink.

Fact 3: when allowing little people to help with the process of clearing the table and hand washing dishes (which takes time) you get so much more out of it than clean dishes.

Addi and I had a nice little mommy/daughter visiting time today. I also had a verse come to mind when we were washing and rinsing and she kept asking, “is this how you do it mommy?” “where do I put this one mommy?” “can I turn the water on mommy?” Proverbs 22:6 (I dig the New King James Version on this one) Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.

I know the Lord was not talking about washing dishes in this passage, but it really hits home to realize that EVERY single thing we are teaching (or not teaching) our children impacts their future. Whether it is teaching your child to be kind and compassionate and put the needs of others before their own, or to pick up their dirty laundry, clear their place at the table or wipe their feet when they come in the house... both sets of skills will effect them (and their spouses)later in life. 

Sometimes it becomes very overwhelming in moments of clarity to think of all the things I want to teach or “train” my children to do in the short time that I get to be the primary influence in their life. There are just so many things I long to just put in their little minds and hearts. Sometimes I get so lost in the busy day to day routines, trying to get done what needs to be done, that I forget I am to be teaching and training my children, not always doing it for them. 

This month has been so great thus far. Almost everything we are doing has been family oriented. We talk about things we can do as a family, we are enjoying entertainment together as a family, and we are shopping and picking things from gardens and farmer’s markets as a family. Even if we walk away from nothing else this month… it is an AMAZING time I am spending focusing on God’s creation with my family. The forced slowing down of things and the time spent during this month go way beyond recycling, conserving water, and shopping local. It is quality time that I don’t always take the time to enjoy or embrace. And for that I am extremely grateful.

Thanks for joining me on the journey.