I can’t remember now why I chose the name NaturePlayLove for my instagram handle about 5 years ago. I needed something fairly quick and I was just starting my journey to full embrace nature. I was just starting to be able to understand why nature was so important to me and for my children. I mean, yes, of course we should all care and appreciate nature, but I was starting to appreciate just how much a role nature played not only in our basic physical well-being but for our emotional health as well.

Back in NY, we had a corner house by the highway, but with it we also had what we used to call our urban nature oasis. We had this grape vine that was planted by our neighbor when I was still a kid that we were able to harvest an abundant amount of the sweetest seedless green grapes you could ever have. Somehow our garden was able to grow what shouldn’t have been able to grow – a tall stalk of brussel sprouts one year, large winter melons, and here a lovely harvest of broccoli. There’s nothing like being able to grow your own vegetables and fruit and I’m grateful my children have been able to see a little bit of that no matter where we lived.