Convenience and Compromise

Like many people, I am living the kind of life right now where, simply by necessity, convenience often becomes paramount. There are so many situations where I am forced to take the long road or, in fact, where I choose it on principle, that whenever possible, I work to find short cuts.

Because we are gluten and dairy free, I cook most things from scratch. There really aren't too many convenience foods available to us and those that are are often poor quality, lacking nutrition or prohibitively expensive. Unfortunately, convenience also often comes at too great a cost to the earth in terms of over-packaging or unnecessary energy use. All of which serves to make convenience a topic with some baggage.

Add in the fact that I am time poor (and aren't we all?). We homeschool and so I am with my children most of the time. There is schoolwork and toddler herding to be slotted in around the cooking and cleaning and the all important homeschool social commitments.

Further, there is no village here helping to raise these children. Mostly now it's just me and That Guy doing the best we can. Friends and family are all at least thirty minutes' drive away and are often problematic as carers and helpers (or helpees for that matter) for a variety of reasons. We live in a fairly impoverished area where the rent is affordable on our modest income. Our local community is not one we ever really feel a part of, however. The culture and way of life here is quite foreign to our own and often it's difficult to connect in a meaningful way with the people that we meet locally.

Thus, convenience, with all it's drawbacks, becomes a priority and as a consequence, 'compromise' steps up as the word of the hour.

For instance, we use fitted cloth nappies that were given to us by a friend. Sometimes- all too often over this unusually wet summer - I've had to put a load of nappies in the drier when we've run out, instead of waiting for them to line dry. Occasionally I run out of nappies completely and I use a disposable nappy. I try to do it without guilt, knowing that I'm doing the best I can in this moment, although I might promise myself to be a little more diligent with the laundry tomorrow.

Recently we went through a period of a few months where the budget was tighter than usual. We had a little money in the bank to help us through, but some compromises needed to be made.

When both adults needed new every day shoes and the purchase couldn't be postponed any longer, we decided on $12 sneakers from Kmart, knowing well that they would only survive two or three months of constant wear. Ordinarily we would opt for genuine quality and value for money. It's less of a burden to the earth and it usually saves us money in the long term, but you can buy quite a few pairs of $12 shoes for the price of one pair of good quality shoes. Add ethical manufacture onto your list of shoe requirements and price and availability begins to pose problems for a family struggling to afford the basics. Thus, I try to allow myself the flexibility to stray from my path without regret whenever I deem it necessary.

Importantly, I also try to support others in the choices they make, even when those choices differ from mine. I accept that most people are doing their best to live well. If they are failing in one area, they're probably excelling in another. It would be presumptuous of me to try to dictate what their priorities should be. I'd like to think we are all contributing according to our strengths.