Sand dollar gifts

I guess this NYC girl is now a nature enthusiast to the extreme! Our recent experience with the sand dollar proves it.

Remember that famous story about 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 “that one cares” and threw another starfish into the sea.

Well, I have a sand dollar story to share. The other day we came across a small island while sailing and we couldn’t believe how many living sand dollars there were in the water and on the sand, green, fuzzy, and prosperous. They weren’t white and dry like you buy them in a store. My kids were really interested in them and so were we adults, actually. Other children took them out of the water and brought them home, showed them to us and even offered them to us. My family enjoyed holding them and looking at them, but then we would throw the sand dollars into the water … to keep living … and we would leave with only memories as memories.

Now I was not always like this. In fact, when I was a teenager, my parents took me to the Bahamas and some natives dove in and got us a couple of starfish that we brought back as souvenirs. Back then it seemed the most normal thing to do. However, I still remember the shock on my children’s faces when they first learned about my youth vacation and the starfish experience. Invariably I was asked why I would do that because it didn’t kill the starfish? Boy, that made me feel awful.

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 children. I wonder why did I want to do that? Oh well, the past is over. 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, “What would happen now if ALL the people who came here take out the 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 teenager wouldn’t have said, “That was cool, let’s go back there. I liked all the sand dollars that live there.” This was straight from a well-known computer enthusiast who spends as much time with his computer as possible!

With each passing year, I can see better the importance of protecting and trying to save the environment and wildlife. Have I received a better education? Am I more mature? Maybe. But I think it is more because I can better see the image through the eyes of my children who seem to see the world through a special focus and help me to see some facets that I might otherwise miss.

So let’s not stop caring for the environment just because we think we can’t save everything or have a big enough impact. If everyone does their little part, then we can help keep the magic of nature for ourselves and for our future generations to learn and enjoy. We will play a supporting role in the drama of our living environment when we choose to receive and give … the gifts of a sand dollar.