A Legacy In Bloom

We had a great day at Australia Zoo, but I was fighting back tears as I looked at the memorial sculpture of Steve and Terri Irwin and their children Bindi and Robert. The bronze had frozen the Irwin family in time, in a happy moment, all together with their favorite thing all around--wildlife. The zoo that they have built with their own hands and out of their own hearts' vision was thriving around us, and the articulation of their vision is a triumphant, happy thing; but, as a mother and a wife, the moment captured by the sculptor made my heart ache for Terri and her kids, even as Steve's dreams blossomed in every direction.

The zoo was beautiful, both physically and ideologically. It was totally oriented around Steve Irwin's vision--"get the public a close-up encounter with fantastic wild creatures, and everyone will catch the vision for conservation." I had marvelled at Steve feeding and wrestling (for some reason--maybe mowing the grass?) his crocodiles Acco and Agro on one of his shows, and it was unbelievable to "meet" them in person. When I "wrangled" the twelve-inch garter snake in my compost pile in Austin, I borrowed the technique that Steve had used to capture a deadly and venomous Australian brown snake that now lives in the snake house. I have often thought, at Steve's prompting, about how highways infringe on the habitat of kangaroos in Australia, and now I have fed some of the ones that have been rescued. In many ways, Steve had helped form my vision of conservation and environmental protection in Australia, and in general.

I have loved Steve Irwin's enthusiasm ever since I first discovered his show, when I was in university. Every animal, no matter how small or common was a "little beauty" and "gorgeous." I think that because Steve Irwin had so much child-like enthusiasm, He and Terri designed Australia Zoo to be a wonderful, experience hands-on encounter for kids. The zoo has fossil digs and free rides, free shows and keepers that talk about the animals and answer questions. It has life sized sculptures of crocs and playgrounds near ice cream shops. Australia Zoo is totally child-centric, and the experience inspired Jordan, Meryl and Micah Jade to share in the Irwins' excitement about wildlife. Like Steve Irwin, Australia Zoo is "larger than life."

Steve Irwin may have passed away, but his legacy lives on. On speakers all throughout the park, we heard his voice and his ideas. His happy face still adorns walls and shops and calendars. We experienced his vision in the zoo itself, which will carry on under Terri's capable management. We even stood in a line for a ride with his 6-year-old son Robert, who is the "spitting image" of Steve Irwin himself. Steve's children will know him in a way, through his work and his videos, even though he is gone. His life is a story of family and dreams and tireless work toward conservation, and by any objective standard he has moved mountains.

As I looked on the sculpture of the Irwin family, I pondered the successful legacy of Steve Irwin that flourishes, even with the sadness of his family living without him. Steve's legacy made me consider my own legacy, as yet unfinished and undetermined. I hope I have 60 more years with Greg and Jordan, Meryl, and Micah. I want to have a lifetime of comfort and encouragement and clean shirts and hot, homemade meals to offer to Greg. I hope I will get to continue to teach my girls that it is "more important to be kind than pretty," until they are all strong women, marked by the fragrance of love for others. I want to be able to somehow share God's love with people beyond my family and close circle of friends. I hope I have a lifetime of memories still to make, but I know tomorrow is not promised to anyone, not even to me. Therefore, today, let me cheerfully plug away solidifying all these hopes into my own legacy, so that when I am gone, my legacy, like Steve Irwin's, will bloom around those I love.