I guess this New York City girl is now a nature enthusiast to the extreme! Our recent experience with the sand dollar proves this.
Do you remember the famous story of a girl who throws a starfish into the sea one by one along the coast? When a bystander told the girl that what she was doing wouldn’t matter much, she replied “it does matter to that one” and tossed another starfish into the sea.
Well I have a sand dollar story to share. We stumbled upon a small island the other day while sailing and we couldn’t believe how many live sand dollars were in the water and on the sand, green and fuzzy and thriving. They weren’t white and dry like store bought ones. My kids were really into them and so were we adults. Other children were pulling them out of the water and taking them home, showing them to us and even offering them to us. My family enjoyed holding and looking at them, but then we each threw the sand dollars into the water…to keep living…and left with only memories for keepsakes.
Now, I wasn’t always like this. In fact, when I was a teenager, my parents took me to the Bahamas and we had some natives dive and bring us a couple of starfish that we brought back as souvenirs. Back then it seemed like the most normal thing I wanted to do. However, I still remember the surprise on my children’s faces when they first heard about my youth vacation and starfish experience. I was invariably asked why I would do that because didn’t it kill the starfish? Boy, did that make me feel bad.
Turns out they had a very good point. I have learned from life, from my children, I don’t know where else exactly, but now I feel the same as the children. I wonder why he wanted to do that? Well, the past is done. But now, we CAN save sand dollars (and starfish) at least one at a time.
I guess the other day we all wanted to save this little piece of marine life. We care about the little ones in nature. I thought, “now, what if ALL the people who came here brought out their sand dollars to keep as souvenirs? Then we wouldn’t have had the special magic that we found for a while together on that little strip of sand and sea.” And my teenage son wouldn’t have said “That was good, let’s go back there.” I liked all the sand dollars that live there.” This straight from the mouth of a well-known computer enthusiast who spends as much time as possible with his computer!
With each passing year I can see more of the importance of protecting and trying to save the environment and wildlife. Have I been better educated? Am I more mature? Maybe. But I think it’s more because I can see the picture better through the eyes of my children who seem to see the world through a special focus and help me see some facets I might otherwise miss.
So let’s not stop caring for the environment just because we think we can’t save it all or have a big enough impact. If we each do our little part, then we can help keep nature’s magic for us and for our future generations to learn and enjoy. We will play second fiddle to the drama of our living environment when we choose to receive and give…the gifts of a sand dollar.
