Appreciation for My Community

Last week I had a pretty miserable week, with what started as allergies and I think turned into something else.  I have a whole new appreciation for being able to breathe out of my nose.  When that doesn’t work, the in through the nose out through the mouth goes out the door.  Although the start of the week was crappy, the weekend was great.  The kids and I headed down to the southern part of the province to spend the weekend with Darcy.

 Throughout the weekend, we spent some time walking and wandering through the town.  I was absolutely amazed at how little care and attention was given to the community.  There was garbage everywhere and few garbage cans, neglected grass, weeds all over and out of control and a general run down appearance of a lot of the residences and buildings around town.  It was so hard to walk by and not want to pick the weeds or ask someone if we could borrow a lawn mower.  As we were walking one evening, there was a young kid walking in front of us.  As he walked and came upon a can or a piece of garbage, rather than bend down and pick it up, he just kicked it around as he continued to walk. There was no awareness or care of what he was doing.  From the looks of things around him, he was just following the example of many other people.  It was so hard to just watch and not say anything. 

When we go for walks, we always take bags with us; one for recyclables, another for garbage.  If we forget a bag, there never seems to be a problem finding one hanging in a tree along the way.  Our kids have been taught by example and are right along with us.  This is our community and it is our responsibility to help take care of it.

This weekend I realized what a beautiful town and community we live in.  Care is taken all over Stony Plain, from the gorgeous hanging pots around town, the mowed and well maintained lawns and parks to the recycling facilities that are at the residents’ finger tips.  We definitely live in a community to be proud of.  It is important that we each do our part to keep it that way and to teach our kids and lead by example to others around us. 

It’s good to be home, just wish it was with my whole family :(

Alana Regier