Steve Irwin Day

Today, amidst all the chaos of moving out of state and Noah getting off his fantastic sleep schedule, already starting pre-teething, (yea, I know EARLY, but all the signs are there folks!) I woke up and remembered that today was Steve Irwin Day. Those of you that know me well know how much I admired Steve Irwin and how devastated I was when he was taken back to live with Heavenly Father much too soon. Aaron & I had finally saved enough money to take my dream trip to Australia back in 2006 and were just 2 weeks away from the day when I would finally see Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo and hopefully get to meet him and his lovely family. We had been on the phone to some wonderful Aussie's at the zoo and they said it looked like it would probably happen because he would be back from filming at that time so I was getting so excited! I was dog sitting on the morning of September 4th and had the TV on the Today show. I was playing with the puppies and overheard, "More on the life of Steve Irwin when we come back..." I jumped up thinking "How great they are doing a story on Steve and I get to see him in 2 weeks!" Just as I got to the TV I saw the picture of him with the year he was born, the dash, and 2006. I knew what that must mean and I couldn't believe it. I flipped to every news channel and they were all reporting the same thing and I lost it.
When we got to Australia and arrived at the zoo, it was so bittersweet to say the least and the overwhelming emotions coming from everyone there were extraordinary. I was so happy to finally be there and so sad that this marvelous human being that did so much for animal and land conservation around the world was truly gone.
The family keeps September 4th as their private day to mourn/celebrate Steve so they have made November 15th Steve Irwin Day around the globe. It is a day to wear your khakis and celebrate the life of Steve and more importantly, carry on his message and his work of education & conservation! So many people have told me that since his death, they have learned so much about him. They used to think of him as just this nutty crocodile guy but now know so much more about what he truly was about. Please take some time today and click on www.wildlifewarriors.org and learn about the amazing things these people do every day. We met them. They are incredible. They care for God's creatures and they care for Steve's memory. Here are some of my favorite pictures of Steve. Crikey, we sure miss you mate! The video at the end is a beautiful peom written and read by Rupert McCall at Steve's Memorial.