It’s Friday! Merry Christmas Eve, Shabbat Shalom, and welcome to the weekend (something everyone can celebrate!). I’ve got a busy day of house chores before me, but hopefully I’ll squeeze some time in there for some reading and relaxation. As I write this, it’s not quite 8 am, and I’ve got the cat snuggled up on my lap. Makes typing difficult, but he’s nice and warm and this makes him happy, so it’s all good.
Here's what I
found interesting online this week!
In
Praise of Scruffy Hospitality
How much do I love this article???
We invite people over (when it’s safe, that is!) and
we stress out cleaning our homes to make it appear that no one actually lives
in them, and we cook fancy food that takes ages to prepare and wastes time and
money and resources. How necessary is it that we make our home into a museum,
instead of being okay that our kid left a pile of drawings and crayons under
the piano bench and our current knitting project is lying in a bag on the
floor? Maybe those items could spark a conversation and deepen friendship (“Oh,
I’ve always wanted to learn to knit, could you teach me?” “Wow, you must really
love art. I have some old painting supplies I’m not using, would you like them?”).
And are people coming over to see your house and eat fancy food, or are they
coming to visit you? Definitely something to consider before you plan your next
gathering.
It's
Time to Stop Giving Gifts to Adults
YES, PLEASE.
It’s not that I’m not grateful- I very much am (my mom
in particular is an excellent gift-giver and chooses gifts with a lot of
thought). But it’s just so much pressure, and gift-giving is super unnecessary.
If anything, a single, thoughtful gift that can be used up- a plate of cookies,
a loaf of bread, something along those lines- would be better. Less waste, less
pressure, and everyone has more time to spend on the things they want (and
maybe more time to spend with each other as well!).
How
to Get Rid of Throwaway Culture
I wish I could print this out on a poster and stick it
to my wall.
I hate waste. Loathe it. And I also realize I can’t
fix the problem of waste in this country or in this world all by myself. I can
do my best to buy items with less packaging, but if all I can afford is the
item with more packaging, well…
But I keep trying. My husband’s repair skills are pretty
impressive (he replaced a burned-out fuse in my Instant Pot this year; he
rewired one of my daughter’s toys in the past; he’s replaced small plastic bits
and soldered things back together), and I’m pretty handy with sewing repairs. I
reuse everything I can, buy used as often as possible, and I’m doing my best to
instill those words in my daughter: “There is no such thing as away.”
And along those lines…
Why
Shopping Should Be a Last Resort
I hate shopping. I tend to buy only the things I need.
There’s a big glass canister at Walmart that I’ve had my eye on for years, for keeping
flour in…but I have a really large plastic barrel that was originally a
canister for cheese balls (given to me empty by my mom; she knew I’d have a use
for it, and I did!), so I don’t need it. I have a terrible time finding gifts for
anyone, because most of the things in stores look like such junk, junk that no
one needs…This is a really great article that points out how we should be
thinking about shopping. Buy new only when necessary, buy only what you can
repair, and buy quality so that it lasts. And, of course, buy as little as
possible.
And finally…
The
Danger of Treating Body Parts Like Fast Fashion
How we think about our bodies and our looks is important,
and so much of our culture is hellbent on making us dislike ourselves so they
can sell us more stuff. If only we put on this outfit, we’ll finally look the
way we want! If only we buy this makeup and that hair dye and schedule that
procedure, we’ll look young again!
Who cares? Why can’t we be happy in the bodies we
have? Being trendy is boring; being comfortable with what we have- gray hairs,
spreading hips, cellulite and all- is revolutionary.
I’m 41; white hairs are starting to crop up in my dark
brown hair like weeds in a garden. But not all weeds are bad; some are useful
(hello, dandelions!) and should be celebrated, and that’s what I’m doing with
my white hair. I’m lucky to have lived this long; not everyone else has been
privileged enough to experience this. My stretch marks and soft belly are
medals of honor from surviving two pregnancies. I’m not going to have the body I
had when I was 16, and that’s okay. I can love my body for what it is
right now, chronic pain and all, no matter what any company says. And so should
you.
That’s it for this week! Merry Christmas, Shabbat
Shalom, and I hope you have a wonderful, relaxing weekend. Whatever your plans,
whether you’re meeting with friends or family or ordering Chinese takeout,
please be safe. So many people I know right now have breakthrough cases, and I
have two family members who are sick with non-Covid viruses (so we’ll be
meeting with grandparents on a later date). There’s still a lot of yuck going
around out there, so test before you meet if at all possible, and please,
please, please, stay safe.
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