Do you like how just last weekend I was all, “Oh, I can’t believe I’ve been so absent from the blog these past 2 months and I can’t wait to get back into it” and then I went silent for a week?
Ugh – that Julie girl is such a liar.
Truth is, I considered last week my 4th vacation of the summer because my in-laws kept my kids this past week.
Let’s take a moment and let the full impact of that sink in.
I didn’t mention it because I didn’t want to jinx it and end up with a my 2 year old Mama’s boy clinging to me so tightly that I would have no choice but to bring him home. But he stayed.
It. Was. Glorious.
I made a point last week to do things that I normally don’t get to do and to not make a to-do list or feel pressured to do anything (including blog posts).
We didn’t cook, didn’t do laundry, didn’t do yard work, didn’t clean. I slept in. I sewed things (more on that later). I painted things. I ran when I wanted to. I read a book…..in bubble baths. On Wednesday all I had was a taco and several bowls of ice cream during the day.
It. Was. Glorious.
My husband still had to work (day freedom for me!), but we did the week right and we went out to eat 3 of the 5 nights. With total freedom.
So here is my confession – despite this journey and the thought of zero waste being on my mind every day…I am quite terrible at remembering my zero waste kit when I go out. Specifically, I’m terrible at remembering my own “take home” container.
We honestly go out to eat so infrequently with our kids being 2 and 4. Oh, and we’re really cheap. We don’t really like to pay for babysitters or going out. But this week – since we didn’t have to pay for sitters and armed with numerous gift cards – we took advantage of it.
So on Monday night, before we left for Outback Steakhouse without children, naturally, I was all like:
Such Bliss! Such Joy! Such Happiness! It had been SUCH a great day doing what I wanted!
We were maybe 10 minutes away when I realized I forgot a reusable take home container. For someone who is trying to live a more plastic-free life and is trying to promote zero waste by being an example…I was crushed.
In fact, I didn’t bring anything except my reusable straws that were in my purse. (In fact, I ordered NEW reusable straws because I went out to eat recently with my dad and he had this set full of beautiful colors and I knew they needed to be mine. Not to mention, I knew we would need more to put in different places and we’ll inevitably lose a bunch of them. And it was June which is Pride month so it felt appropriate.)
Aren’t they beautiful?
I was still ridiculously happy to be out on a date when we arrived at the restaurant. So, with some disappointment in my heart and an extremely full bladder, I dashed off to the bathroom first thing. Sadly, while I was in there chatting it up with an acquaintance that I ran into while in there (isn’t that the way it always goes?), the waitress brought out water with plastic straws already in the drinks.
Such sadness…
I had to keep reminding myself that it was OK. Plastic happens – I can’t change everything and I just need to remember that any time I DO remember my own stuff, it’s a step in the right direction.
Partly since I didn’t eat all day and partly since I wanted to redeem myself from being forgetful, I ate every single bite of my meal. Appetizer, salad, entree, side of fries. Gone.
I don’t promote that, mind you. My belly was FULL. But I did it.
And I vowed to do better at zero waste.
The issue I think I’ve been having with my zero waste kit is that I frequently need different things depending on where I am. Sometimes I need a smaller solo kit. Sometimes I need enough for the whole family. I feel like I’m constantly switching things around and I don’t have a good storage spot to keep all of my “going out stuff” to just grab and go.
So the next day, I grabbed a different canvas tote since clearly my issue is just that I didn’t have the right accessory instead of being forgetful. 🙂
I chose my whale tote to remind myself that if I want to SAVE the whales, I should bring a whale with me (see what I did there??).
The next night, we went out for Mexican and I summoned all my teacher bladder super powers and immediately told the waitress that we didn’t need plastic straws.
She appeared to be in high school and seemed a little apathetic/confused by the whole situation. But she was good about it and double-checked that we didn’t want straws when she brought out our margaritas later. I also brought my own take out containers – which we used.
That was a WIN for Julie!!!
And the whales.
Two nights later, we made the drive to Beachwood to go to Bahama Breeze since we had gift cards, had never been, and we COULD drive an hour away to go to dinner because I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this yet….but we were KID FREE last week!
I hit up the waiter right away as he was in mid-action of setting the individually wrapped in plastic, plastic straws on our table and said probably a little too loudly, “We don’t need straws! I brought my own!” and flared out my new rainbow straws in dramatic fashion.
He seemed taken aback at first, but then chuckled and said, “I get it – I always carry my own plastic silverware with me” and I unabashedly chimed in with, “Oh, I brought my own metal silverware too. And take-home containers!”
As he continued to return to our table throughout our dining experience, he kept inquiring about my motives. He asked, “So…is this to be more eco-friendly or is it something else?” I said something like, “Saving the whales man – one plastic straw at a time”. Well, that’s what I said in my head. I guess my husband could confirm what actually came out of my head, but I know I also said something about trying to cut out single use plastics. The woman who brought out our food set down our plates and said, “I LOVE your straws!”
And they both seemed really genuine! Maybe they were just being polite and trying to get more tips, but hey, it’s more awareness the way I see it – even if they don’t personally make changes.
The REALLY nice thing about bringing your own take-out container is that you can box it up as soon as you’re finished eating. Or as soon as you know you SHOULD be finished eating. No waiting on a wait-person to bring you a plastic container of death.
Score! Check, please!
The Beck Trek 