Want to hear a story? This amazing little boy, his existence was six years in the making. Undiagnosed infertility issues meant years of waiting for our little miracle. When he was born, I wanted to give him the world. I felt that the best way to love him was to give him all of the things. Well, I was wrong. We do our children zero favors when we raise them to think the world is at their disposal. Instead of constant gifts and new toys, my son gets experiences and secondhand items. Every part of his outfit, except his hat, is secondhand. His hat was made from leftover yarn I already had. He will learn that happiness does not come from things. His experiences will provide him with a broader worldview and better respect for our earth.
Because we are choosing to prioritize the health of our planet and experiences over material things, our Christmas will be a little different. Instead of buying my son a bunch of brand new toys, we will be buying secondhand or giving homemade gifts. We will mostly give experience gifts like a museum membership or park tickets. We will use recyclable wrapping paper or cloths for the material gifts. By supporting a circular economy, we are not using any more resources and we are preventing previously owned items from going to the dump.
I love my son more than I thought was humanly possible. I know now that the best way to love him, is to try my hardest to create a clean and healthy world for him to grow up in. ❤🌎
