Milk Bag Community

Today was a very full day. I knew it was going to be full, but as always my plans go awry. Valentines took much longer to fill out than anticipated and then a shower was necessitated before bed because bright pink batter does not blend in with blonde hair. I was stressed and cried because my cupcakes did not turn out the way they were supposed to. My daughter was incredibly encouraging and strangely did not throw a fit about our imperfect cupcakes. :)

All of this drama meant that I was running late for this evening. During a random after school conversation, I finagled an invitation to help fold, cut, loop and eventually crotchet milk bags into sleeping mats. One of the teachers/parents came up with this idea and it's fantastic! However, this is a lot of work. We're getting a great response from the kids and community (I love my school!), which means that there is a lot of work to be done. Some staff and parents have been regularly getting together to deal with the milk bags. They're a neat group of ladies and I wanted in. Tonight was my chance. Since I was running late, I was concerned about not fitting in, or missing most of the fun.

I needn't have worried. We had such a great time! As always with a group of women, our conversation was wide-ranging. We laughed, shared birth stories(somehow with me around the conversation always goes there), and got to know each other better. As we talked, work happened. I folded bags and then formed the loops into a long chain which I then wrapped up into a ball. Later someone will crotchet it into a sleeping mat, which will be then sent to another country. Milk bags cannot be recycled, but are hygienic mats which don't decompose apparently. It feels good to take something that would be wasted and instead use it to help someone else.

Being useful felt good. Being part of community felt great. Getting to know some wonderful women was awesome! Making new friends and building on relationship with current friends always makes me smile. Tonight was no exception. :)