Earth Day and simple living

Today is Earth Day(or E Day, according to Danielle). It's always fun to celebrate Earth Day, though in reality I typically celebrate Earth Week and Earth Month. Back in college, I organized University of Washington's Earth Week activities, including a festival, movies, tours, and networking events. I've been thrilled to learn that since my time at the UW several green student organizations have formed an alliance and are working together to plan the events.

More recently, I've organized activities for SAM. As my previous post describes, Climate Day for Kids is our big Earth Day event. For the last two years we have also hosted a work party from Arogy University. This year TASTE Restaurant offered a special Earth Day dinner featuring their local, organic culinary creations. I'm excited to see how things will continue to grow!

All these activities mean that April is always the start of my busy season. Earth Day flows right into Bike to Work Month, and the warm weather of the summer means more visitors, events, and work parties.

Admittedly, I was very stressed last week. But on Sunday and Monday I took the chance to relax and recover from the previous couple of weeks. On Sunday Dave and I did some serious gardening. I was tired from moving tables on Saturday, but it felt good to get outside and work. I ended up covered in dirt, but I was pretty happy about it. I thought that I would sleep in on Monday, but I woke up with the sun at 6:30am, and felt good! My back wasn't bothering me and I took pride in a productive day, organizing the office (the space that still needs the most work after my move) and donating and selling a number of items. It was gratifying to get rid of the clutter, find new homes for usable materials, and enjoy added free space!

I hadn't realized how much the stress was affecting my health. By Monday night I knew that I felt better - my back didn't hurt, I had energy, and I had a general sense of calm. After a day of time for myself, I was ready to round out the weekend with quality time with friends.

There is still a long way to go in my "busy season," but I continue to strive for balance and quality experiences. I'm finding joy in the little things - gardening, cooking, organizing, and spending time with Dave, friends, and family. I'm learning to set limits, and while I'm no expert yet, I think I'm making progress.