A while back, I was changing Mojo in a restaurant bathroom and a friend of mine who works there offered to take the diaper and throw it away for me. When I pointed out it was cloth and stuck it in my very fancy and expensive wet bag (a plastic grocery bag lol) she said "Oh, you're one of those." It really made me smile, and I will tell you why. I have always been a bit of a weird-o. If you are reading this and know me personally, I am sure a story of my uniqueness has sprung to mind. I see this as a good thing. The one constant thing about my weirdness has been that it adheres to my own Hippie-Witch logic. I am never really trying to be weird, I am just doing my thing and always seem to end up there. My weirdness tends to also be very buffet style. I will not protest something for the sake of protesting, I have to really feel it is wrong and that I can make a difference. I will not wear my faith on my shoulder, daring someone to comment on it so that I can "defend myself", but I will wear my pentacle proudly because it means so much to me and I will graciously explain to anyone who asks what is means. I will also not jump on every granola parenting trend just because I say it on a parenting forum, and beat it into the ground to anyone who might have (gasp) chosen not to do the same thing. I do cloth diaper. The biggest reason for that is that I got a little obsessed about it when I was on bed rest and had only the internet to entertain me, and I needed a project. I have stuck with it because I had no idea it was so easy and because we have saved SO much money at a time we don't have a lot of money to spare. I breastfed both kids, Jiji for only 4 months due to illness and circumstance, and Mojo for nearly 10 now. I am weaning Mo onto formula now because my grooming business is starting to get busy, pumping is a disaster for me,and because, frankly, she is starting to bite...hard. We are getting serious about gardening and urban homesteading because I have always wanted a big garden or farm, and it makes me happy. Having more and more veggies to eat, can, and freeze, along with fresh eggs will also help our tight budget. We compost because buying compost is expensive, and it really helps the garden. We home school because we felt it was the best choice for our family and our situation, and because we are in a position where even when I am working, I am home with the kids 80%-95% of the time. We are Pagan, and raising our kids Pagan because both my husband and I found the Pagan faith and our hearts felt they had come home, and want to teach our values and beliefs to our kids. They may not chose to follow our faith, and we expose them to other religions, but for now we are raising little Witchlings. Don't want to cloth diaper? Cool, I have a few packs of disposables I was given and never used, help yourself. Don't, or didn't breastfeed? Awesome, I promise not to tell the boobie Mafia who thinks it should be a crime to not breastfeed, if you promise not to tell them I quit early on both kids. Think all good veggies and eggs live at the store? Right on, can you pick me up a gallon of milk when you're there? The point is, I make my choices, and they tend to be a little outside of the norm. (Like maybe choosing to be such an openly weird, Pagan, Hippie in a very small, rural, Mid-Western town...) and I believe you have to make yours for yourself and your family. The weirdest part is...I don't even expect you to explain to me why. I will take it for granted you did what works for you. I am a grown-ass woman and assume you are a grown-ass person yourself, and I think we all left any obligation to report in on our conduct to the "cool kids" behind a long time ago, at least I did and if you are a reasonably happy and well adjusted person I suspect you did too! And if you are one of the "cool kids", please remember the person you are condemning because they made different choices than you is a real, live person with a brain, and you might simmer down long enough to ask them about their choices. People who yell the loudest are not the winners, and you don't have to convince someone else they are wrong in order to be right. So three cheers for being one of those, which ever one of those you happen to be, cause someone is always the weird-o so it might as well be us.
H.W.
