Last weekend, my mom moved to Virginia. My brother, nephew, and Dad were in tow to help out. Here we are sitting around a makeshift table that my mom put together. She took the milk crates she used for storage and placed the wrapped Ikea side table on top, so that we had a place to eat dinner as a family. This after my dad made a dash to Home Depot to pick up some patio chairs. We haven't yet bought a dining set.
This makeshift table illustrates one of the dozens of reasons why my mom is so amazing and why it will make such a huge difference to have her with me and Lily. My mom is one of the most crafty and resourceful people that I know. She can take junk and turn it into works of art. She'll take trash and turn it into functional furniture. And, she won't be deterred by my green, hippie work-arounds for me and Baby Lily. That is, as long as she still gets to use the microwave.
After we ate, Dad had a list of projects that he wanted to get done. He wanted to get cleaning supplies to wipe down the walls, fix the front door, fix the back door, and put together as much furniture as he could. The maids only did a standard cleaning, not a move out cleaning, which is fine with me, because we could use eco cleaners on everything.
My dad would just wipe the walls down with bleach. However, organic preggo here wouldn't have it. We had to drive to Whole Foods to buy the eco-friendly, non-toxic, plant-based cleaners. I didn't realize how skeptical my family was about the eco cleaners. That is, until they talked about how well they cleaned, and how surprised they were at how they smelled like they would actually clean stuff.
My dad brought up painting a couple of times. I started by nodding and saying "okay, we'll think about it." But, the third time it came up, I tried to politely explain that we couldn't paint while I was pregnant or when the baby was young. That I'd rather just leave the walls as-is. BabyCenter.com talks about types of paints to avoid while pregnant, and some companies do make a more eco-friendly, no-VOC (volatile organic compound) paint. But, since I tend to avoid as many chemicals as possible, I'd just rather not paint right now. I mean, I'm the kinda gal who takes her own liquid soap into the bathroom at work.
I needed to completely adjust my communication style. My mom asked about hanging up some air fresheners in our closets. I knew that it wasn't obvious to her just how many chemicals those air fresheners leached into the air. I thought about it for a moment, and I realized that we were going to have these conversations over and over. It wasn't a bad thing, but most folks aren't going to realize where green hippies would see danger, and I was nervous about coming off as bitchy. My response would normally be unintentionally snooty, "I won't use that." Or, "Not in my room." It's important to be as least offensive to my mom as possible while politely declining what I see as a toxic option. It's also important for me to clue her in when I'd prefer a green alternative, or that a green alternative actually exists for whatever option, as she's going to be doing a lot of the shopping for the house. So, when it comes up, I decided to say, "I prefer a green option. If there isn't one, then I prefer nothing at all (or the conventional option)."
Dad wanted to get everything done before he left. He has been so helpful, and he doesn't want to leave us with a mess. I had to keep reassuring him that we have a huge support group, and lots of people are coming to help out with the move. Yay family!
