We are hiding key parts of ourselves so we aren't judged. Things we are ashamed of for no other reason than having a very judgmental crowd of people look down on us. And the thing is, most of those that would judge the decisions we make that set us apart from the truly crunchy crowd do the same things we are doing.
So I asked my friends, asked on the facebook page, and a lot of the answers were shockingly similar.
These are my top reasons the hippies and crunchy crowd would disown me in a heartbeat.
1. Shopping at Walmart - This one is highly hidden, yet when asked, is admitted freely. I shop at Walmart for everything. I live in a smaller town, and we only have 3 grocery stores, but Walmart has everything I could need in one trip. And when you shop with an almost five year old that wants everything, the faster the trips, the easier it is on me. I also used to work at Walmart. Just with those two admissions, I'm out of the crunchy club.
2. Television - The television in our house (for the most part) runs all day long. I can't have quiet no matter what I'm doing, so most of the day it's music (our laptop is hooked through our TV since we don't have cable or a DVD player), but our daughter watches movies, I watch trashy TV shows, and the TV is rarely turned off.
3. Ina May Gaskin - This one is more in with the natural birth crowd, but I am not a big fan of Ina May. I believe she has done a lot for pregnant women and birth in this country, but I don't think she is the all knowing and powerful midwife she has been set up to be. I don't agree with a lot of her practices. And with that, my birth credibility is out the window ;)
4. High Heels - I love my stilettos. I will always love my stilettos. I don't care if they ruin my hips, my ankles, my posture, my back. I will wear them until the day I die.
5. Tin Foil - I cook with this all the time. The bottom of my stove is lined with tin foil to catch drippings. I use tin foil to cover food in my fridge if I don't have a lid for it. Tin foil is my best friend.
6. Disposable Diapers - I used only disposable diapers with my daughter. Yes, this was before I became the crunchy nut I am, but I never once considered cloth.
7. Baby Led Weaning - We started our daughter on solids at four months old (three months adjusted). We fed her with a spoon from bottled Gerber baby food until she was almost a year.
8. Babywearing - We had a crotch dangler that we used all the time with our daughter. Bought it for $20 at Walmart.
9. Toilet Paper/Paper Towels - I've thought about going to family cloth, but I love flushing toilet paper and not dealing with it, and I love using paper towels. The idea of switching is an idea just to save money, but I do love my disposable paper.
10. Video Games - My house is like a fun house for geeks and nerds. We love Nintendo, and own almost every system they've ever made. Our daughter knows how to play most Nintendo games, knows most of the characters, and we are proud of that.
11. Fast Food - Our daughter loves Happy Meals. We love fast food. We eat it less often now, but it's still a splurge and it's still delicious.
12. Vaccinations - We don't vaccinate, but I love people that do. Especially those that research the decision and made the choice themselves. I can't ever say what is right for another family, and this topic is one of them. It is none of my business, and if you are with the crunchy crowd everyone thinks it's their decision to make for you and it isn't. Vaccinate your kids if you want to and have researched your decision. It is after all your decision to make.
13. Disney - Our daughter loves Disney, as do we. Her room is decorated with Disney Princesses, she has a princess castle, and has memorized every line from Beauty and the Beast. And I'm not ashamed of that.
14. Artificial Dye - We don't eat this anymore, only because of how much our daughter has changed while being off, but I used to love it. Candy is delicious and I love it. If our daughter hadn't changed when coming off, we would have gone right back to eating fake food and loving it.
15. Nestle - The Nestle Boycott is one of the main staples of being crunchy. We won't buy anything Nestle even if it's from one of their partners, but if someone gives us stuff that Nestle made (especially Wonka candy which is my weakness), we will eat it. I won't throw it out. For Halloween, our daughter got a lot of Nestle candy, and I enjoyed it right alongside her. No shame. I didn't buy it, but I will enjoy eating it.
Just because you lead a crunchy life doesn't mean you have to hide the parts of you others in your circles wouldn't agree with. And the thing is, I'm pretty sure there are no true crunchy types and no true hippies that don't do at least one thing others wouldn't scoff at.
Lead your life. I still say I'm uber-crunchy and hippie, and the parts that don't truly agree with that are just my flair for the dramatic.
8 comments:
Oh, let's see. I put my kids in Montessori School as soon as I could afford it. I let them eat happy meals. I went back to disposable paper products because I was going to scream if I had anymore laundry. I'm really bad at remembering to recycle. And I lose patience and yell at the kids sometimes.
I like this post :)
@Gennifer - Way to be! If homeschooling doesn't work for us, Glade is heading to the Montessori here in a heartbeat. And with you on the yelling.
@Rachael - Thanks :)
Thank you for this. I'm admittedly "soggy" (and yet somehow most people in my area think I'm the earth mother). A lot of the "confessions" that crunchy moms give actually make me feel worse, because they are confessing to things like "one time my kid ate a single McDonald's fry." So thanks for being real.
My daughter loves hot dogs, and we use disposables. I want to switch to cloth napkins and towels, but just haven't gotten around to it yet. There is so much more!
Ahhh that felt good!
Exactly Mandi!! I hate the ones that admit things that I have never done, even on my best days. Just make me feel that much worse as a mother.
Way to be Meegs! My daughter's favorite food is still cold hot dogs right out of the package (yuck...).
The hippies would disown me, too. I had a c-section, fed my son formula, didn't babywear, shop at Walmart and I don't boycott anything. I don't even consider myself part of the hippy/crunchy crowd because I don't agree with a lot of the politics surrounding that. I'm just doing my part to make my little part of the world better.
So what is wrong with tin foil? I guess I am not crunchy enough to even get that one. Ha!
I use paper towels & toilet paper with no shame!
The artificial dye... not a week after I decided we would not use it anymore, my son asked that his birthday cake be decorated with gumballs. Ha! Artificial dyes galore!
As much as I want to be a gentle parent, teaching with all patience, I blow it every single day. I yell at my kids. Sometimes I even stomp my foot or slam a door. (like a 3 year old...) Harsh & immature. :(
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