The American Way??

Today I drove from the small college town where I live to a small town just Southwest of us, my goal was to drop off a load of our children's excess stuff, I was struck by the growing extremity of American excess. I passed by mile after mile of brand new huge constructions. In the 100 year old neighborhood I live in, most of the large older homes have been converted into apartments as the size of the American family decreased from 6 or more children to one or two adults living with one or two children. So the question then remains, why are these new homes that are taking over Americans farmland with their size and majesty necessary for the decreasing American family size? Then I passed by the oldest SuperWalmart in our town that has had 3 Superwalmart's sprout from our farms in the last 5 years. The answer was exceedingly clear. If Superstores need that big of a space to carry the items we need in our homes, obviously we need bigger homes. The American way is for bigger. A huge plastic toy that plays by itself after a child pushes a button has taken over from the wooden blocks of several generations ago which had taken over the sticks and rocks of generations before. My children own several of these large items that have no function. While they sit and collect dust my son is outside playing with a shovel and rocks. His little body works hard moving the rocks spending time in God's creation.

although I grew up in the city, I had the joy of moving to a small town and then the opportunity to drive through the country everyday on my way to higher education. During these drives, I fell in love with watching the seasons change in the land so rich and full of so much nourishment that God has provided us with. Those drives that filled my heart with so much joy and peace have been replaced by sadness as the beautiful old farms with acres of nutrient rich whole foods have been either replaced by subdivisions or are up for sale.

Some extremist would state that population control is the answer. As a natural Catholic, I view my children as the answer. I hope to teach them to

love the earth and creatures that God has given us and to treat dominion over them as a responsibility and a privilege but never to take advantage of it. For to those that much is given, much is expected. This applies to our care of Mother Earth. We must embrace and protect this gift just as we should with other great gifts such as our fertility.

One way to help us embrace this is to find Lady Poverty and treat her like

the Lady she is. As parents it is almost impossible to sell our of our possessions and sing for scraps like St. Francis did. We have a responsibility to feed God's people (our children). However, this should not be an excuse for excess. As I continue to declutter our house, I feel as though I am blessing my children and freeing our family from a life of selfishness and greed to one of fulfillment and peace. This week we plan to sell some of our old toys that for whatever reason they don't play with. Some of the items my children decided they didn't want and others I decided for them based on past play experience. Whatever the reason, I sit with great anticipation to when we can donate a portion of the money.