The older I get, the more I want to stay connected to the rhythm of the earth around me. In many ways, this feels like a return to childhood. I remember being 5 years old, lying in bed, angry at my mother -- because it was mid-summer and still light out. I could hear the older children on my street playing outside, but my early bedtime meant I was supposed to be going to sleep. I felt out of rhythm.

When I was a student, especially in college, there was no escaping the natural world in my day-to-day life. I was in the weather every day, walking to class, to meetings, to the college newspaper office where I spent most of my free time. My schedule was based on the time of year -- certain classes in the spring, different ones in the fall, a break in summer and another in winter.

For almost 14 years now, though, I've worked in an 11-story office building. My work is sometimes cyclical, but never seasonal. I sit by a huge window, but it doesn't open to the outside. I park under a carport at home, and in an underground garage at work. Maybe I need a jacket during part of the year, but my daily life has little to do with the natural world.

But even as I feel more disconnected from the outside world, I've felt the need to purposefully re-create some of those ties. I think it helps me function better as a human being. Here are some of the ways I'm trying to do that:

• Eating seasonally -- Enjoying the fresh fruits and vegetables of the season


• Getting outside -- With a busy family that needs shuttling around, I can't do this as much as I'd like. Even in the winter, I think it's important to spend some time outside each day. And especially this time of year, when it's so beautiful!


• Gardening -- I live right smack in the middle of the city, and my back yard is pretty small. Still, I find that even small-scale gardening ties you inextricably to the rhythms of the season.