Musings on being a crunchy mama while eating crunchy granola

As I ate some organic plain granola with yogurt (yummy!) I read the bag it came in “no artificial preservatives, flavors or colors”  and chuckled at how some people call me granola as an insult but the more I look at it, the more I take it as a compliment.

I sometimes refer to myself as a ‘hippie mama’, “offbeat mama” or a ‘crunchy granola mom’. The terms are a sort of short-hand way to tell you something about who I am. For example, I plan to cloth diaper, breastfeed and babywear. I consider myself a feminist and a pacifist. I subscribe to Mothering magazine and my baby listens to a lot of drumming music.

However, when compared to other granola moms I’m merely crispy, not crunchy. I took a “how crunchy are you?” online quiz and got the result- “Super Nutty, Ultra-Crunchy, Granola Earth Mama” but beware that at 139 points this is nowhere near the high score of “WOW!~Crunchier than Grape Nuts!”.

However, one mama can only be so crunchy, you know? So, today, I am going to share with you some of the many ways that I am not such a hippie mama after all.

1. I love camping but I must still have access to a shower, even if just a camping shower bag.

2. I do not own a pair of Birkenstocks, and I never have.

3. I do not enjoy Bob Dylan, although I am sure he has a broad influence and revolutionized music as we know it. Or something.

4. I  shop at Walmart. While I would like to avoid big box stores whenever possible, sometimes they really do have the best prices and selection.

5. Even though I’ve been vegan and vegetarian for years in the past.  I eat meat, and I like it. I also eat wheat and dairy and occasionally consume high-fructose corn syrup. Because sometimes? Mama needs a coke slurpee fix.

6- I have a lot of baby gear such as a crib, bounce chair and stroller, and including the playard, otherwise known as a  baby jail.

7. I am pretty law-abiding, although I have no problem writing a strongly worded letter to an elected official.

8. We live in the suburbs, and have no plans to move back to the land.  I don’t care for the sprawl but I live with it.

9- I have plastic food containers, as much as I strive for BPA free, I admit I still have plenty that came from the dollar store.

10- We recycle and try to be environmentally conscious but I admit that my carbon footprint still has room for shrinkage.

11- We have a TV (although 95% or more of its usage is by hubby I still watch some shows)

Sometimes I  feel judged by people and others make comments that  I am engaged in a one woman game of ‘hippier than thou’. I am not. I do the things I do because I enjoy them. If you don’t enjoy them, it’s fine by me.  I will not agree with it, I will not endorse it or promote it but I will respect it, just know that you will get an earful of my opinion if you open that door but I will never go on an unsolicited sermon (unless you start the subject).  It’s also cool if you’re an organic raw vegan who wears Birkenstocks and loves to primitive camp. As long as we can be tolerant and understanding, we can join together as one happy tribe, I say.