I struggled a bit with this first birthday…ideas on how to
keep it low key. I had fears of kiddos
running out of my house with little baggies of plastic crap, all of it landing
squarely in the landfill, and thousands of years from now having evidence of
this birthday still not biodegrading. I
never struggled with real post-partum depression about Finnegan, however, I do
suffer now sometimes from a low grade pessimism about the state of mankind, and
the universe. If I start to think about
it too much, I feel like one of those fifth graders whose teacher shows them
pictures of dead sea turtles and ugly beaches on Earth Day, which research has
now shown only makes kiddos feel hopeless instead of inspired. I feel that way if I start to think too much
on it. I do my small part, but it is so
easy to feel as if your small part is too miniscule. The hard part is, change can only happen on
an individual basis. The rearing of
thoughtful children and the saving of the planet is a slow, arduous process
that takes time and patience. So, what
we ended up deciding on for Finn’s inaugural birthday into the world was a
Cardboard Party…with a small burning man taking place afterwards to rid
ourselves of the decorations. Besides,
they say kiddos enjoy playing more with the boxes than they do the presents,
right? 
It turned out to be a huge success. We started with a tunnel built around the
table, and a car to pull the babies around in.
Stars hung from the ceiling, and the cardboard they were cut from was
put in the windows, a two-fer decoration deal.
His name was in the window, and each guest got to take a star home with
them. It was certainly a birthday I
could feel good about economically, as well as ecologically. I feel like I got Mother Earth Advocate
points to add. Although we requested no
gifts, we still got a bucket load. I’m
open to ideas as to how to deal with this in future birthdays! Perhaps requesting everyone brings a bag of
dog food to donate to an animal shelter, or a shell or piece of beach
glass. I really am looking forward to
years to come where Finn and I can brainstorm together. It’s not that I’m not grateful for the thoughtfulness;
we simply do not need it. This year has
been about downsizing…in a 950 square foot house, this has been more out of
necessity, but has been a blessing in disguise.
With added awareness comes more frustration, though…especially with a
baby, and all the stuff that comes along with it.
This is going to be a wonderful blog site. The birthday celebration seems to have turned out just as you wanted it. I'm so impressed with the consideration put into each aspect of the possible impacts on this great planet of ours. Now I am going to have to reconsider Finn's birthday gift which we were waiting to give him so he had time to settle down. It has plastic....quite a bit of plastic. I think it will be donated to Santa for his round-the-world trip this Christmas and we will work on homemade....SP was always the envy of the neighborhood with his handmade toys. Happy blogging.
ReplyDeleteIt's really hard to temper proselytizing thoughts (and statements) and balance what you want for your family sometimes...for me, any way. Homemade is always treasured. My mum asked me what he was "into" right now, and I told her he really likes our chickens, so she crocheted him a little chicken that he carries around sometimes now. Those types of things are so treasured. Those are the things I'll hoard until I have grandchildren...and there are some fabulous Made in the U.S. toy websites, and their stuff is beautiful. I love that this gives me an opportunity to support or not support things with my dollars, I'm so used to buying used for myself. Thanks, Sharon!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea! And a bonfire ala burning man after. I wish I had been there!
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