This Valentines Day (which yes, is now like moooonths ago) for playschool, I had to dress Clay in Valentines colours, and, since I have this phobia about fairness between my boys, I dressed Ryler in Valentines colours too. I hunted through his slim selection of clothes currently available to us (most of his things are in a box on the ocean between Vancouver and Cape Town), I found one of my favourite red GAP onesies with the wording ‘Ado(RED)’.
As I dressed my little (then) 9.5 month old, I thought back to when I used to dress Clay in the same onesie, and then further back to where I got it from. In fact, I have no idea where it came from. You see my friend Beth had announced to her colleagues that I was pregnant back in the ‘Couve and being the generous Vancouverites that they are and the frugal international students that we were, a number of her work friends donated gently used baby clothes to me, via Beth. (Thanks Beth).
And so while this item of clothing has gone through 2 little people in my family, I have no idea how many it has gone through before us. I find this to be quite a beautiful thought, the idea of other little lives wearing this onesie as their mom or dad took them walking along the beach, or to the park, or to a coffee shop with friends, and how that baby could have fallen asleep on their chest like Ryler does on mine. I feel a sort of nostalgia with an unknown memory to hold onto.
Why do we glamourise consumerism so much? Needing new, and improved, and more… What do we have to prove by having more clutter, other than a gluttonous mentality and feeling as if we deserve better or newer (and I’m not judging here – I’m a great example).
The word recycling previously made me think of squashing cans between this fairly dangerous metal clamp in Primary School or smashing glass in those big igloos (what were they thinking having US Grade 6’s do that?), but has more recently challenged me to think of reusing, reducing and recycling more than my day-to-day food/packaging containers. Lets not just reuse, lets reduce. Lets share a lawnmower with a neighbour, or give someone a spare key to your swimming pool when you’ve gone away for the weekend. How about sharing a pot of soup when we have plenty to go round, buying communal land or a communal car? Let’s share our skills, and our talents, our knowledge and our spaces.
And please, let’s share baby clothes because there is honestly TOO much of it. I’m happy to pass on Ryler’s little Ado (RED) onesie to the next person in need – and expand the untold stories…
My little Ryler in his ADO(RED) onesie
