I love dirt.  

That is a fact, though it’s really soil that I dig (no pun).  I love everything that goes with dirt, too, bugs, fungus, worms, veggies, trees, and especially kids.

Kids don’t get filed under dirt, you say? Wait’ll you meet mine.

Mr. Dirt has molded me considerably, though he’s no blogger.  I spend my days robbing the world of oxygen, flipping compost, and managing home and family, while he’s off working for The Man. Somebody’s got to pay for this dirt party, after all.

Four Kids in 4-1/2 Years

For a long time, it was just Mr. Dirt and me, then Kids started slowly showing up one by one.

Our first had us, we like to say. The second — also a complete surprise — arrived only a few short months later. Before I could sneeze, Number Three was on her way, and to round it all off, much to the consternation of our parents, we opted for a fourth kid. We never stopped to consider the full consequence of our lack of planning, but we are thick in it now regardless.

Why blog?

Blogging does its part in keeping me sane, but writing is not my forte. Digging is. If it’s Pulitzer-winning material you’re looking for, click away and don’t come back. Snippets from my wonderful dirt-and-kids-filled life is what you’ll find here. Nature, family, gardening — light and positive, mini-snaps of a very real, very full life.

Mostly, I blog for my kids. It is better to show them by my daily actions that it doesn’t take a lot of effort to live in harmony with nature while still living an amazing life.

“With an attitude of respect and concern for other beings, we can create an atmosphere of happiness, real harmony, and real brotherhood.” ~ Zahid Abas

Waking hours (even some of the sleeping ones) are filled with keeping house, running an on-line school, nagging the kids, running errands, and cooking meals. I have threatened fantasized about getting a paying job, one that requires me to play outside in the dirt every single day. Until then, this is it.

Hopeless Copier

Most of what I’ve learned in life was by doing it blatantly wrong, accidentally right, or if others have done it right first, I might copy them so I can spend less time learning and more time actually doing. Ugh. I am quite unoriginal and possibly the biggest expert at nothing at all.

Whatever the task, however, I like to get straight to it. Re-purposing other people’s waste, tending the garden, watching birds, discovering new insects, and witnessing kids doing the same is the dream life. I’ll take the one-on-one visit on the back porch swing over a smart phone chat any day.

My overall state of mental health is directly proportional to how much time I spend outdoors: lots of time outdoors, Happy Girl; little time, Grumpy Girl.

Mommy is my heart, soil is my spirit.

— Shannon @ DirtNKids Blog
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