Friday, November 14, 2008

Sentimental Journey

On my first day of vacation I did laundry with a fever. Load after load, I was relentless! If it could fit in the machine it got washed. I even made a run for quarters around noon. Truly, I was only limited by the space for drying. Both shower rods and every chair had laundry hanging from it. Here is a picture of my balcony. Thankfully, what was once tacky is now "green."

I had intended to take big bags of clothes to Good Will. So far that hasn't happened. It's hard for me to part with certain articles of clothing.



These shorts are one of the few items of clothing that have seen me through the years. I bought them while working at the Dress Barn during my senior year of high school. I wore them to back yard graduation parties. I wore them on my first day of college. As they faded and wore out, they got softer and more beloved. They became relegated to the gym. Now, it's been many years since I would wear them in public. The elastic gave up a while ago- which makes them even more comfy! Sigh.

Recently, I was reading about Soule Mama's new charitable venture Mama to Mama. She's organizing The Caps to Cap-Haitien Project: A partnership with Konbit Sante. The women in this partnership will receive a safe birthing kit.
"
These kits - consisting of plastic sheeting, hand sanitizer, a sterile piece of string and razor blade, and these newborn baby caps - have the potential to reduce infant and maternal mortality, and give babies a safer, healthier start. "

In light of budget cuts my health plan just changed. I have spent some time researching my new insurance providers maternity policies. Let's just say, this project has given me a new found gratitude for my HMO.

Is there a better use for my beloved shorts? I think not.

Just to show how ignorant I am about the suffering in this world... I made the first hat with a doggy patch. Boyish I thought. The second hat got my favorite Hello Kitty patch.

Then it occurred to me a bit too late, that these women do not get the gender detecting ultra sounds we take for granted here. Their birthing kits include razors and hand sanitizer for goodness sakes!

No matter how bad we think we have it here... we are so very fortunate. I am so very fortunate to have a days worth of laundry to do. So fortunate, so very, very fortunate.

Note: Seriously, these hats reuse old tees and took 10 minutes each to make! Won't you join in?

2 comments:

Nutsy Coco said...

That's a wonderful project. Thanks for sharing!

Mama Said Sew said...

Those are so cute Jane! I'm so glad you're participating in this project. I sent off my first batch of caps today.