The Color of Love is Green?
With Valentine's Day rapidly approaching, I can't help but contemplate love. And when I think of love, I inevitably think of my Hubby. Several years ago, when Hubby and I were dating, Hubs gave me a gift. I know, he is so sweet, right? Ah, the days of dating were so fun. Because you got...stuff. More often than...now. See, now that comes off wrong. I don't mean to sound unappreciative. Hubby is terribly sweet and I'm a lucky girl. He still gets me gifts once in a while. And I'm not a Material Girl. Being married to him is such a gift, that I don't need "stuff" gifts. Even though every girl would admit that it's nice to get gifts once in a while. Ack. There I go again. Hubby: I love you and please disregard this paragraph.
Once again, I digress.
...reusable grocery bags...
And nothing says love like reusable grocery bags.
Or does it? See, Hubby, in all of his intellect and wisdom, was ahead of his time with this gift. Reusable bags are all the rage now, and so they should be. Did you know that society uses 1 million plastic bags per minute? And that these bags will stay on the planet for up to 1,000 years? And that they cause up to 10,000 marine animal deaths per year?
Yikes.
But back several years ago, when Hubby gave me my first set
of reusable canvas grocery bags, they were rare. Grocery stores were not yet making their own
reusable bags for consumers to buy. It was a strange site to see a shopper
BRING their own BAG to the check out line.
I took his gift with the frozen smile and reticence of a
girl in love, but thoroughly deflated by her boyfriend's gesture. Don't judge
me. I was young and naive. Despite the let down, I intended on using them. Even
if people gave me the hairy eye in the grocery store. Because I was in love.
And that's what you do when you are in love.
Change is hard. Since I've started my journey to become
greener, change is the one obstacle I've struggled to overcome. For my whole
life, I have been used to doing things a certain way. I never took the time to
recycle. I ate things that were horrible for my body (c'mon, I've lived outside
of Philadelphia since birth. In 1999 we were dubbed the Fattest
City in America. In 2009, Men's Fitness still ranked us within
the top 20. It was in my blood). I was inactive. And I shopped with
plastic, non-biodegradable grocery bags. So, as with every eco-friendly step I
began to take, using reusable grocery bags felt uncomfortable. I know, it's
only a little thing. But it was weird.
Over time, I was surprised to find that I kind of liked
using my reusable grocery bags. It was far easier lugging my groceries from the
car into the house. There was no fear of the sturdy canvas bags ripping and
food spilling everywhere. For a short time, I even got refunded 5 cents per bag
at Giant. And they were kind of cute. Not long after receiving the bags, I
noticed more people using them. I could hardly believe my eyes when the local
grocery stores were selling their own brands to customers, encouraging them to
bring their own bags instead of using plastic!
Now that I am a Momma, our health and environment have become important issues to me. A part of me is sad that I spent 20+ years of my life unaware of how unhealthy my lifestyle was, both to myself and the earth. I want to do my best to give my children the tools they need to make healthy, eco-friendly and sustainable choices. Not coerce them, mind you. Rather, for Hubby and I to live our lives in such a way that our children want to joyfully and purposefully follow along. With our resources depleting and childhood obesity dramatically on the rise, we have a responsibility to help our kids be healthy and eco-minded.
So when my Little Chica came along, Hubby and I tried to make the best decisions we possibly could when it came to our child. For her first year of life, we used cloth diapers. They were a lot of work (and some people thought we were crazy), but I felt the labor was worth it (not to mention it was a money saver!). When Little Chica was still a baby, I dabbled in the art of making her baby food. The fruit and veggies came straight from the Farmer's Market, and on that end, I felt great about what she was consuming. Not long ago, I found some cute child-sized canvas bags at Target. Little Chica loves to tote them with her to the grocery store just like Momma.
I will admit: I am not perfect, and I do not make the best choices every day. But I try. With one daughter in my life now (and hopefully more to come), I try to make good choices not just for me, but for her as well. I believe that it is all about taking small steps toward change, and we owe it to our kids to make changes that benefit us all. As Whitney Houston says, "...the children are our future." Rock on, Whitney.
In the end, Hubby's reusable grocery bags were one of the
most thoughtful and well-used gifts I've ever received. To this day, I still
use the very bags Hubby gifted me. They started me on the adventure of living a changed life. Hopefully a life that will change the future for my children as well.
So I guess it is true: nothing says love like reusable grocery bags.
This is an original Philly Moms Blog Post.
