Wednesday, January 28, 2009

The Times on Dirt

Two friends have posted this article on how dirt is good for our immune systems, and it is, for me, cause to celebrate.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/27/health/27brod.html?_r=2&em

I know about the various diseases we can catch from dirt, soil, or animals: salmonella, toxoplasmosis, simple gastrointestinal distress. And yet, I'm enormously pleased to think that my laissez-faire attitude about dirty children might be paying off. The once-a-week bathing, for example, might just be the thing for development of a healthy immune system.

Now, I'd love to apply this attitude to what we do today, but we are looking out our windows at a cold drizzle falling on icy snow, and I'm thinking that to find any good dirt today we'd have to get a pickaxe. And unfortunately, snow days make me feel like I have to clean up house a bit or I'll go insane with the clutter. But now I know reason #2987 for playing outside, as soon as I can find an outdoor activity that matches with wet rainy sleet and slick puddly snow.

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