Earth Day Is On It’s Way

I saw this announcement in the local news email this week…

The city’s biggest family celebration begins at 9 a.m. Saturday at Discovery Green, a large green space in the heart of downtown. And as it happens, it’s one of those old-fashioned grass-roots efforts.

via Earth Day Houston: We’re having an eco-party | Lifestyle/Features | Chron.com – Houston Chronicle.

It started me thinking about the plans I had prior to my bum’s rush out the door at work last year. For a number of years I had set Earth Day 2010 as my “retirement” day from the company I started working at in 1973. While I wouldn’t be at a normal retirement age, I felt the length of time at my firm was beginning to take the freshness off. The date was picked for a number of reasons, both fiscal and physical. Needless to say all of those plans were changed by management game players…Thanks one and all!

One thing to be said about being ushered out the door…It will mean a two year jump on making the move we want to make to the Blue Ridge Mountains (barring winning the give-away house at Southern Living). We just have to hold out long enough for the financials to work their way through the system. I have to be thankful for the fact that my better half still has a job that pays enough so that we only have to tap savings a little bit to ride this out. With the economic situation being what it is we are extremely lucky.

One of the benefits of this life right now is getting to live a slower more deliberate life. Like enjoying the spring morning outside swinging youngest grandson in his swing I just installed this past weekend. Watching his delight as the wind alternated between blowing in his face and blowing his hair in his face. Standing there in shorts and t-shirt, flip flops on my feet, temperature in the mid 60’s, watching a couple of hawks play up above, mockingbirds doing their thing in trees scattered around the yard, the smell of honeysuckle tickling my nose…Life could definitely be worse…But I’m not sure it can git much better.

Sitting in the one lawn chair we have out back while the youngster jumped in his jumping horse, I couldn’t help but wish we had a table and chair to sit and work on the computer at. I’ll admit though it would only be useful in the mornings ’cause since Ike exacted hi toll on our trees (especially the big oak that went away completely) the afternoons are way to warm out here.

Gone...and missed every afternoon.