Becoming my Nana

When I was younger, I remember always picking at my Nana about her kitchen drawer full of used plastic bags, aluminum foil, twisty ties, and rubber bands. I thought she was so silly for washing and reusing these small items. She would always defend her reason by saying that she lived through the Great Depression and back then, "you didn't just throw things away". I would just roll my eyes (in my rebellious teenager way), or give a laugh and move on. I thought I would never do something so silly.

Fast forward to now. If you walked into my kitchen, you would see plastic bags hanging to dry in the window sill and also folded up in the drawer. I save rubber bands from produce and twisty ties from bags of bread. I save these things because I realize that it's an easy thing to do, to wash and reuse, and it not only saves our family money in the long run, it is taking that small step towards saving our Earth.

My Nana passed away 5 years ago, this month. I miss her like crazy. I hope that she would be proud of the woman that I've turned out to be. A woman who recycles these little things, who grows food and cooks for her family, a woman who freezes veggie scraps and chicken carcasses to make stock for meals and composts to recycle back into our Earth.

Nana, if I could tell you one thing, it would be that, living through the Depression and finding means to keep even the smallest things didn't make you silly or ridiculous. It made you a world changer. My world. I hope one day, my grandchildren will think the same of me. I love you so much. XoXo