Because you completed our survey, we’ll be able to make RFM even better. And gosh, thank you for the many wonderful comments! We are truly humbled. At one point, the out-of-town, independent survey administrator told me to stop getting all of my friends to answer the survey. I assured him that I didn’t have that many friends, but we DO have fans…lots of them! We will read every one of your comments and suggestions and incorporate as many of them into future issues as possible, so stay tuned!
Up this month in RFM, super kids, super trips, and super ideas for saving the planet, along with our popular quarterly RVA Health Focus, with a wealth of useful information to help you and your family live your best, healthiest lives.
I love Robin Farmer’s feature on collaborative consumption on pg. 16, something I practiced without even knowing it was a term to describe a way of living. I love hearing my young boys say, “I’m done with this, so I’m going to put it in the recycle bin, Mom.” Yes, I love it because it means they’re finally learning to clean up after themselves, but also because they are learning at an early age what it means to do our part to help planet Earth. And what they are just now figuring out is that they have been participating in collaborative consumption since the day they were born – by being dressed from head to toe in hand-me-downs.
Having children at an “advanced maternal age,” as my OB called it, has its disadvantages for sure (all of which relate to exhaustion since we’re too old to be chasing these balls of energy around), but one definite advantage is that we have been the beneficiary of many a bag of gently-worn clothing and about a zillion boxes of previously-loved toys. I can say with complete honesty that we have yet to purchase a coat or jacket of any kind for our kids, yet they each have several for every season in their closets. And when we are finished with a certain size clothes or toy? You guessed it, on to our much younger and wiser friend who has a two-year-old boy, and is just as happy to not have to spend money on these items.
And here are a few other miscellaneous tips from my household to yours: those medicine measuring cups? They make terrific syrup, ketchup, or ranch portion cups! And put one by the bathroom sink for a handy toothpaste rinsing cup. The colorful plastic cups that came in your Easter egg dyeing kit? They are the perfect snack bowl for chips, fruit, you name it!
How about RFM? Do you keep every issue? If so, fabulous! But if not, please recycle it with your mixed paper. Or better yet, share it with a friend or relative who hasn’t read it yet (or who might not know about us). They’ll thank you, and so will we!
