I believe playing sports can give you strength, a community and lifelong joy. For your nieces and nephews, it can provide refuge to the nearly inevitable awkward transitions occurring between grade school and high school. The participation in sports can elevate mood, raise grades and mold character.
 
My hope is to motivate you to be an active participant in the lives of the kids in your life - and for them to play along, of course. My goal is to get you all to expend energy and be active.
 
But today - I am asking you to take action by saving energy.
 
Over the last ten days, the entire world has been uncomfortable onlookers to the events in Japan. To have an almost immediate and constant view to tragedy is heartbreaking. The near-instant access, the hard-to-erase images, the technology responsible for bringing the world together also makes one painfully aware of how far apart we actually are.
 
Although I have never traveled to Japan, I have many Japanese friends; Kei (he prefers Jimbo), Taka, Kenji and his wife, Tsuki. For the past 11 years, I have had the pleasure of hosting business language students from all over the world in my home. Usually I host one student a year, but during the summer and fall of 2007, I had four students come and stay with me, three from Japan.  
 
Jimbo made quite a statement when he arrived at my home that September. Slim in build, incredibly hip and forward in his dress and constantly pumping his arm as if was about to throw a touchdown pass. Here I had the quarterback from a Japanese collegiate football team as my houseguest for a few weeks. Did you know they played football in Japan? I didn't. But what really moved me was when Jimbo showed me a picture of his son, Yuki, not even eight weeks old. I was smitten - as much in love with Yuki as I was with the person who was so unselfish in his wanting to provide the best life for his family, to ensure career advancement and learn the skill of another language. That's when I became a long-distance Auntie (LDA).
 
As hard as it was to witness a father-son relationship play out over phone or computer, I had the pleasure of being a part of many first moments. Even when Jimbo was in Denver, I never really felt that far away.
 
But the morning I woke up to the news of the earthquake and tsunami, I felt very, very far from my friends. I immediately reached out to all my friends and struggled with the time difference while waiting for the replies. Tsuki had to walk home from work as all mass transit was shut down, six hours from office to home. Taka has extended family living with him and Jimbo described how everything in his home shook in response to the unbelievably powerful earthquake. Scary, but he is safe. And then the news got worse - aftershocks and a nuclear threat. It was almost impossible to not feel scared and hopeless, until I received the following from Jimbo: "...currently we all people in Japan are putting together in order to help suffers. People in areas other than the disaster area have saved electricity in order to establish and keep electric powers in the disaster area. (I have spent time in my house at night with a candle.) A large amount of contributions have been made. The many local high school students have voluntarily working for the reconstruction of the area damaged saying ‘We young people also want to do something for people.’. They are really beautiful scenes. The situation is getting better day by day due to their great efforts. I hope the day we can see many people smiling is coming soon."
 
Once again, and certainly not for the last time, I felt incredibly blessed for my friends and motivated to spread the word and share their news. I finally knew what I could do: I could help.  
 
Aunties, more than most, you know the power of the kid; their dazzling wit, endless energy and sheer joy at being able to command attention. Kids are amazing. And as much as I feel it is our job to give to them, I am asking you to ask of them...enlist them to help a cause, use their energy to save energy, be global ambassadors.
 
In honor of our friends, family, nieces and nephews living in Japan, make a concerted effort to save energy: turn off lights, watch less TV, unplug unnecessary electronics. Just like the love of play or practice, a habit might form! Empower the kids in your life, have them spread the word in school, let them know that they can be the change they want to see in the world...perhaps, by candlelight.

Amy Shigo is a sports journalist.

Published: March 23, 2011