Made In The USA

I learned two very important things in high school.  From two very wonderful people.  Mrs. Head taught me to write.  She was my teacher for Freshman Honors English.  I didn’t really know what to sign up for my first year of high school.  I had gone to a small private grade school and never really enjoyed English, so I’m not sure why I chose honors over regular, but I did.  Ya know what happened?  It kicked my butt.  Yet in hindsight I’m so very glad that I was in that class with that teacher because it made the rest of high school and college writing a breeze.  So thank you Mrs. Head for teaching me to write good….come on, laugh a little.

The second lesson I learned was thanks to Mr. Parker.  While Mrs. Head was the type of teacher everyone liked to hate because she was so dang tough, Mr. Parker was the type everyone(I think) loved.  He was the only teacher(that I had) to invite his classes over to his house for a BBQ after a field trip.  Mr. Parker taught Honors Physics, which I took my senior year.  The most important thing he wanted to teach all of his students was HOW TO THINK.  Not how to get the right answer, but to figure out why and how things happen.  Every class for the first few weeks was started with a question about how something worked or why certain things happened.

So there’s what I learned in high school: how to write and how to think.  Other than that I was really good at learn and forget.  As in past the test and move on.  To be sure I had some other great teachers too.  I would bet a lot of them are still teaching at EHS.  Maybe I’ll go visit some day…likely not.

All that is a prelude into what I’ve been thinking about lately.  Namely that maybe I should think about things a little more.  Particularly things that I buy.  You see, I’m asking the local community to pay a premium for farm fresh, nutrient dense food for a variety of reasons.  One of them being that it provides our family with an income from doing something we love and can do together.  I’m asking people to pay enough for us to cover our costs and have a little left over without having to need Paul or I working off the farm.  But what about everything else besides food?

The verse in the bible about not worrying about what you will eat or drink or wear has really hit home for me the past few years.  We knew we wouldn’t be making much, money wise, when we started off down this road called farming.  We also knew we could live very simply and be happy.  And as we’ve gone along the Lord has generously provided a good deal of what we eat, drink and wear free of charge.  Our children live almost entirely in hand me downs and thrift store finds(found by aunts and grandmas).  My mom brings home a good deal of “damaged” food from the Hope Center to supplement what we grow ourselves.  As for drink, well, we mostly drink water and milk.  The milk comes from our cows and the water comes from a little spring a few miles down the road.  Free of charge.

All that to say, we don’t spend much on personal items.  We make simple recipes for shampoo and conditioner and toothpaste and don’t mess with perfume/cologne, makeup and the like.  But when I do have to spend money on something, I’ve been thinking that I need to start making a little more effort to buy things made in the USA or that are certified fair trade.  If I’m going to be passionate about high quality food, then maybe those philosophies should be extended to material goods as well.

So what do we buy that I could be making more of an effort to buy from manufacturers operating in the USA?  Socks for starters.  My boys rip holes in socks like crazy.  I’ve tried various brands at Walmart, Target and K-Mart and they’re all the same.  So I’ve ordered 3 pairs from 3 different USA companies from Amazon.  Today.  And some Made in USA rain boots for Ethan, because everyone else already has a pair, most of which were given to us.

I’ve learned that buying from USA companies takes more time spent researching but I suppose it was still easier than hauling everyone through a mega store.  We’ll see how the socks hold up.  What else do you all buy that is made in the USA or fair trade from other countries?

My new bag was made in India and sold through Noonday.  I’ve never owned a diaper bag of the type to be found in the baby department.  I made a cloth sling bag when I was pregnant with Ethan and that has been my diaper bag/purse up until now.  I thought maybe after 8 years and 5 children it was time for something new.  This beauty was hand made from goat leather by the lowest class of people in India.  I love knowing that someone was able to support themselves and their family through the work of their hands and I fully expect this bag to be my main bag for the next 10 years+.  Supposedly it gets darker and softer with use.  It might take a while for mine to age seeing as how I don’t get out much.

I think that if we could see the working and living conditions of the people who produce all the cheap stuff that we Americans have come to love, expect and depend on…well, we might not be so eager to buy it.  So for what it’s worth, as time and money allow, I’m going to make it a point to stop and think about where I buy the things I want and need.  Baby steps are better than no steps at all.  If you’ve walked this road already and have companies to recommend….please share.

The Farmer’s Wife

Written between 3-4pm on Sunday, while two babies were napping and Paul and the older 4 were at the new Splash Pad in Edwardsville.  Booyah!  Is my writing any gooder when it’s not done late at night?

July 11, 2016 by psessen Leave a comment