If you haven't today, you should really count your blessings and think of all the great things you have in your life.
Even if you don't think you have much, there is always something to be thankful for.
My kind acts today and yesterday kind of stem from that... it's all about gratitude.
I didn't grow up in a super fancy house. My home was in on a dead end dirt road where we used to ride our bicycles and go for walks with friends.
We lived in a house that was the perfect size for my family, on an acre lot with lots of dogs and love.
Things weren't always easy. But I love my family and I am not going to turn them in to a Lifetime drama.
But things have changed in the neighborhood over the years.
New homes have been added, and some of our new neighbors look like they could do well on an episode of hoarders.
I feel a little sad that the neighborhood I grew up in, where my dad and brother still live, is covered in trash.
I am the biggest anti litter bug you will ever meet.
Not only is it disgusting and not pretty to look at, the amount of damage it does to the environment is alarming.
But, if that's not enough to get you to stop littering, the amount of money it costs American tax payers per year might.
According to Keep America Beautiful, Litter costs the US $11.5 Billion a year. That is just pick up cost. That does not including depletion to personal property value, or the affects on our environment or health.
So with all of that being said, I wanted to teach my son Alex, that you should be proud of where you grow up, no matter where it is.
You should also be thankful to have a place to live, and treat it with respect.
So, we set off with some trash bags and started to do our own pick up.
It took us one evening and one morning to do our clean up.
In those 2 days, we only made it .3 miles down the road, and picked up just over 540 pieces of trash.
And there were still pieces we couldn't get to because it was in bushes covered in thorns.
But I am proud of Alex and I for the efforts we made.
When we return to visit in the spring, we are going to start again...maybe it will inspire the neighborhood to stay litter free.
While this was certainly a good deed, I don't want to leave you with the impression that my home town is a place for trash...because it is not.
There are lots of wonderful things in Natchitoches, Louisiana.
One of them is the Louisiana School for Math, Science and the Arts.
And while I was in town, I got to speak with the president of one of the school's clubs called the Eagle Wings.
Marissa had put together Mardi Gras beads with inspirational quotes and put them on the lockers around the school.
It was really nice to hear the excitement in her voice when she was talking about making people smile. She also said that other kids, who weren't even in her club, had stopped to help with the project because they thought it was really cool.
After talking to Marissa for a short while, she presented me with a bag of 25 if the inspiration quote beads to hand out on my journey...which I did hand out...and you will read about later :)
It was really nice to be "home" for a few days. I needed a little break from all the excitement. Even during that break, I am glad that I got to still help and continue on with my kind acts.
Next, we were off to the home stretch: Mississippi, Alabama, and then back to Florida.
But right now, I have to start unpacking my car and get things "back to normal."
I will catch you up on all that excitement on another blog at another time...
Have a great day!
Kelly Airhart
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