An Overwhelming Sense of Community....

As many of my friends and family know, I've recently intensified my focus around living greener and creating a safer environment in our home. Sometimes this new commitment comes up naturally in conversations -- whether at the groceries store, in line at the local coffee house or out at lunch with friends -- the most common response has been, "that's great...that's something I've been meaning to learn more about."

Sharing this information has been something that I've done openly, the caveat being that I'm always learning, correcting many of my own misconceptions as findings change, evolve, and science makes greater strides. But I have felt like I'm somewhat removed and a little alone in this endeavor...like a bumble bee looking for a hive to join forces with and add a my passion to the greater effort. Don't get me wrong...my husband is incredibly supportive of my hording problem with plastics (just until I can get them down to the recycling center...I promise). And he hasn't yet once slapped my hand away when I reach over and calmly turn his water facet off when he's shaving or brushing his teeth. If fact, he's been changing his habit, and I now hear him in the bathroom shaving...turning on the water (swish, swish of the razor)...turning off the water ("shaving sounds")...turning on the water...turning off the water. I'm so proud of him! (*sniff sniff*)

I recently made a discovery of an amazing site called Healthy Child Healthy World and I felt like I had walked into a room of people that were long-lost members of my family. I found people who shared the same concerns over the safety of the place we all call home. People who were interested in reducing the amounts of chemicals in their homes, food, playgrounds and buildings. I was so moved by the "Wake Up" video, that I had to stop the video twice because my eyes were "sweating" and I was worried someone would walk into my office, desk with walls and a walk-thru hole, cubical, see me crying sitting there with sweaty eyes and think I had big problems really bad allergies. Besides, it doesn't matter what you're watching during lunch, you still have to explain the sweating eyeballs!

One book on my library list is Healthy Child Healthy World: Creating a Cleaner, Greener, Safer Home. Boy, I wish I had had this book 10 years ago. Imagine how far ahead of the learning curve I'd be! Imagine how many fewer chemicals my children (and my husband and I) would have NOT been exposed to in our home! But that's okay...I'm looking forward and making a difference now, because I believe the most valuable gift God gives us is the next 24 hours ahead of us.

So I share my latest find. I hope you enjoy and find something that will make your corner of the world a little cleaner, safer and feeling more like how a home was meant to feel. I plan to keep moving forward...each day a little step further down the path towards creating a safer place for my family...each day trying to teach by example and learn a little more. Because tomorrow is another 24 hours!