Dear Madres,
A good friend and I were Marco Polo'ing back and forth. We do this many days but especially when we feel like literal cr@p and need to commiserate with someone. This day, we were seeking immediate space for the feelings that just needed to be heard and seen, not solved or minimized. We both know that the feelings will change, they will dissipate, they will be steam rolled by smiles from our children, carb intake and crafting of some kind.
As we talked each other out of our funk and fear of failure and pain, we landed on Seattle. I was just there and she is just going. I immediately visualized a new memory for me and began to describe it. As I describe it, my face changes, I feel the smile in my soul as I hear the ocean, feel the spray and watch the creatures of my childhood dreams- whales.
There is something about revisiting those dreams we had as children, when we focus on what they made us feel. Hope, joy, wonder and mostly love. I LOVED WHALES. The idea of them made my heart sing. My friend then said- "that's the ticket, right there, that furiously happy memory." A place to go when the emotions are overflowing the bucket of what I can handle.
And I have been revisiting it often over the last week. There is much to be worried and scared about in our world today. Most are things we cannot control, a worldwide health crisis, a far away country full of people in fear, global warming and a natural disaster in an island nation. I can control how and where I spend my dollars, how I represent the health of my community and the planet with my actions and how I teach my children empathy and resiliency.
I decided that I wanted to show what a humble tee shirt can become. I've talked many times about how the fashion industry impacts pollution and global warming in instagram posts, tiktok videos and more. We have an expectation of how much clothing should cost, and how often we should be getting new clothes from years of being told it must be new and in style. Big companies that rhyme with Flap and Gacy's have made cheap clothes available to us everyday, any day. But, at what cost?
Over the next few weeks, you will see more of these pillows become available as well as other housewares all made from reclaimed tee shirts, saving them from the landfills and giving them more life in our homes.
Till then- Stay Safe- Mask Up,
Kelley