Kindful kids in the park celebrated Earth Day weekend yesterday with lots of seeds (veggies and wildflowers) planted, many liters of homemade Meyer lemonade given away, and a relaxed time for parents to connect and enjoy the beautiful afternoon.

Kids from the park were drawn to our table to plant, make cards, and chalk up the sidewalk! Ananya crafted a beautiful "free lemonade/earth day" sign, Fox eagerly found people to give lemonade (and smile cards) to, Simi was an enthusiastic gardener and helped a lot with the little ones, and the youngest of the crew (Vivaan and Avni) had fun planting, drawing and playing. Our canine companions drew lots of smiles and kids who wanted to pet them, and we had a lovely surprise visit from Harpreet (whom we have missed at Awakin circles due to his health).

As usual in the ServiceSpace ecosystem, whatever we needed (or thought we had forgotten) materialized as if by magic---Kozo's bubbles and chalk for the kids, popsicle sticks from Kinjal to write the names of the seeds planted, and tape to hang up our sign. We were delighted to learn that 8-year old Simi wanted to come to the event "because there will be meditation!" Thanks to Harshida Aunty for nurturing our youngest hearts with Awakin Kids circles :-)

We were all grateful for the shade of the trees (it was in the 80s!) and the presence of kindred spirits. Kozo beautifully explained the spirit of ServiceSpace to folks sitting at the next table, whose kids were happy to join our crew. We had the adults write a "gratitude list" which Brinda will mail them at a later date, and a few of the older kids made gratitude cards for their parents which will also be mailed to them when they least expect it! We left no trace behind, and I was personally thanked by a stranger for our lemonade! Hope the kids enjoy watching their seeds grow, and some of the parents also now have new seeds to plant and nurture. Our evening closed with a silent meditation circle at a picnic table, surrounded by the sounds of birds, children's laughter, and the grace of nature all around us.