Picking up TRASH

I despise messes!

My kids learned early on that Mommy gets quite cranky when the house is a mess!  Don't get me wrong; I don't mind when they make a mess being creative - building, experimenting, playing, being artistic.  Fine.  Just clean up afterwards!

So, of course, LITTER is something I LOATHE even more! 

About a decade ago, my family lived near a busy street lined with several small businesses and shops.  And because of all the foot traffic and scarcity of garbage cans, various things littered the sidewalks and streets all the time! Drove. Me. Crazy!!!  Needless to say, we did not stay there long.

Our current neighborhood is better, but we still sometimes have litter thrown on the streets or sidewalks.

That's why, occasionally, I end up walking around my neighborhood, picking up trash! 

Yes, that's right, I PICK UP TRASH! 

It's not glamorous.  It's not fun.  But afterwards, I actually feel good about it.  

Even after just five minutes, I can see a difference. It's not a huge difference in the grand scheme of things and I know that the next day there will probably be new litter, but I take pride in that moment when I see a cleaner street.

 

 

This morning I experienced a bigger type of victory.  Again, not huge; but it meant something to me.

As I was picking up trash, a teenager and her mom approached my direction.  They were on the sidewalk; I was on the street. The girl was eating something and she started to crumple up the wrapper.  It looked like she was about to toss the wrapper on the ground, so I watched to see if she would actually do it.  

I didn't say anything, just stood there and watched. She looked at me as well. There I was, standing in my pajamas, holding a mechanical claw and a garbage bag on the other.  My hair was disheveled and I was most likely sweating, too! 

I was a MESS!

But guess what?!? She looked at me and she held on to her wrapper! 

She and her mom continued walking and a few minutes later, I saw the teen throw her trash in a nearby garbage can! Yes! Littering averted! 

It was a teeny tiny victory, but a victory nonetheless! 

And the world continued on, unaware of what just happened. 

But I am sharing this story with you, because maybe, just maybe, I can influence one more person (or two or three?).  

I used to take my Kindergarten classes on clean-up field trips.  They found it fun, picking up trash with mechanical claws.  But they also understood the message behind the action.  We should take better care of our neighborhoods, of our Earth.  

 

 

Since I am no longer a teacher, I'm testing out my social media voice.  If I can convince one of you to take some time to occasionally pick up trash around the neighborhood, great! If you can convince another person to do it with you, even better! 

If nothing else comes out of this writing but maybe a smile or a chuckle that someone like me felt so proud about preventing a person from littering, that's okay, too.

My hope, though, is that from now on, you are NOT going to look at litter on the sidewalk or streets the same way again.