The Little Green Pen

The Weight of This Blog: Nothing Next to Nothing…

The idea for this blog came to me as I was walking my three children to school. This daily, and usually pleasant, routine is one of the small habits our family has adopted to help the earth. On this particular morning my middle child was in a stormy mood, his temper matching the dark clouds brewing outside. After grumping over his oatmeal and refusing to wear his “babyish” rain boots, my son groaned, “What difference does it make if we walk to school when everyone else is driving?” As my son squished to school in soggy gym shoes, I tried to answer his question by sharing one of my favorite fables:

Tell me the weight of a snowflake,” a coal mouse asked a wild dove.
“Nothing more than nothing,” the dove answered.
“In that case I must tell you a marvelous story,” the coal mouse said. “I sat on a fir branch close to the trunk when it began to snow… Since I didn’t have anything better to do, I counted the snowflakes settling on the twigs and needles of my branch. Their number was exactly 3,471,952. When the next snowflake dropped onto the branch–nothing more than nothing — as you say — the branch broke off.” (author unknown)

My family’s commitment to walk to school might seem insignificant, but even the smallest action can inspire others to join the flurry. Sure enough, the following morning we noticed a new set of walkers on our route. As we approached, the mom said, “We figured if you could walk when it was pouring rain, then we could get out and walk some of the time too.” Another snowflake on the branch…

As a reader, writer, teacher and parent, I’m always looking for those “snowflakes”, the small actions that seem like nothing next to nothing, but when counted as a whole, can make a big difference for the earth. Through this blog I plan to share my little flecks of earth-friendly information with others. I’ll review eco-conscious books, post my own nature-inspired writing, and offer kid-friendly ideas for going green. I hope my ideas inspire you to read green, write green, and live green as well.

Coming soon: Growing little green thumbs... adventures in gardening with kids