The accidental crunch

So I've been lurking around Mormon Mommy Bloggers (you can find them by clicking on the button to the right. I'm too lazy to just link to it. Even though it would be much faster than just typing this all out. Anywho.) and I found the list titled "crunchy moms."

"What the heck is a crunchy mom?" I asked myself. "Do they crackle when you hug them?"

I Wikipedia-ed it and got everything from "Cruncy Nut Cornflakes" to "Chocolate Crunchies" to "Captain Underpants and the Crunchy Book of Fun." (I had to click on that one - I think I'd actually buy it.)

But after thorough investigation of the self-proclaimed crunchy mommies, (I'm nothing if not a scientist) I get it now.

It means all-natural, down to earth, back to basics kind of mommies.

And it got me thinking. (Obviously, since that's why I'm blogging about it. It's not like I blog about ABSOLUTE NONSENSE, or anything.)

By their definition, I am the crunchiest of crunchies:

I wash plastic ziploc bags
I gave birth naturally three times - on purpose
I make my own baby food (and freeze it in ice cube trays - that's the only thing I use ziplocs for)
I make my own crackers and cheerios
I make brownies from scratch
I am my children's doctor most of the time
I made our own Family Home Evening chart
etc., etc.

But here's the thing: I DIDN'T DECIDE TO BE CRUNCHY.

The fact is, Brazil is a 'back to basics' kind of country. I wash our ziploc bags because I have to bring them from the States and I can only bring so many. I make my own baby food because I have to. I make my own crackers because they don't have healthy snacks for kids here. Every single one of our meals is made from scratch from beginning to end - because I don't have a choice. I made our own FHE chart because we're thousands of miles away from the nearest Deseret Book. I often take a very homeopathic approach to illness because the nearest (good) doctor is freakin' far away.

Etc., etc.

We arrived in this beloved country o' mine when Little Prince was a mere four months old. I have only ever raised my kids in a foreign country. I don't know any different. I've never had the luxury of convenience foods or products. I bring what I can from the States, but baggage and weight limits are very real problems.

So I wonder what I will do when I move back to the States. Will I stock up on Gerber baby food? Graham crackers? Brownie mixes? Probably.

But I think only to an extent. In some ways, I am forever changed.

I will probably always reach for Tupperware before I reach for a plastic bag.
I will only clean with rags - never paper towels.
I will make everything from scratch because it's cheaper, tastes better, and I feel good doing it.

And most of all, I will never take ANYTHING for granted.