A Little Bit Crunchy

There has been a little more crunch in my step lately. By this I mean I do feel a little more inspired to hug a tree...Birkenstocks aren't quite as hideous as they once seemed and I am sure they ARE warmer with wool socks. Granola has been gracing our cupboard and eating meat becomes less appealing by the minute. WHAT??? Who said this? Where did this come from?! I would have thought I was a plastic embracing, convenient living, microwave loving, gas guzzling, energy waster, disposable diaper using woman. I have slowly started rejecting many of the conveniences however that are suppose to save time. Once I remember to check my emails, update facebook, set my PVR, unload the dishwasher while defrosting the chicken and make a phone call on the portable while I run out to turn off the sprinkler I am tired! I have started noticing a kind of comfort in eating real food...that I made myself. I can take pride in serving food that very recently saw the underside of the ground, not far from our home. I found it more rewarding to turn off the baby Einstein and take Ben out of the Jumperoo to read books and listen to music. Around the time Ben started resisting our five baby wraps I was excited to have another baby to savor their soft body weight on my chest and peach fuzz hair under my chin. I have begun to be conscious of new research on vaccines, organic food and energy conservation. I am interested in where our food comes from and how it was treated before it reached our table. I read the ingredients of my make up and shampoo and have begun gravitating to the "naturals" section. I chose a midwife this time over an OB in hopes of avoiding medical interventions that aren't absolutely necessary. I am paying attention to the infant and child rearing practices in other cultures that aren't necessarily the norm here but seem to make so much more sense. This wasn't an immediate change, it was a gradual return to more natural living. I appreciate authenticity, originality and simplicity now in a way that I had overlooked previously. It is a more "fresh" way of being and I am enjoying the new crunch to my step. It is interesting how more people have come into my life lately with the same ideas, appreciations and concerns that I can learn from. I have not as of yet however abandoned my razor or deodorant but I am interested to see where this transformation is leading.