58% Hippie

There comes a time in every person's life when you have to stop and ask yourself one of the most important questions when it comes to your identity: Am I a hippie?

Actually, scratch that. Not everyone has to ask themselves that. I have an uncle who, despite my familial love for him, drives me crazy with his right-wing politics. He doesn't have to ask himself that question. Neither does Chris's very conservative co-worker, who recently proposed to his girlfriend by hiding the ring a gun case. He is also exempt. And really, maybe this isn't a question most people need to ask themselves.

But I've been thinking about it recently, and have been asking myself that question. First of all, what does it take to consider oneself a hippie? Bare feet and dreadlocks? Hemp clothing? No job with a steady paycheck and/or a European attitude about social justice and hygiene?

We're having a baby soon (in case you didn't know), and I have found myself gravitating towards the most hippie of the baby care choices--cloth diapers, homemade baby food, drug-free labor (a near-impossibility at this point, due to the size of the baby's head), and daycare that serves organic, homemade meals. I even bought one of those cloth baby slings in which to tote the kid around town. I am one or two steps away from getting a henna belly tattoo and planting my placenta in my community garden plot. OK, not that last part.

Chris recently called me a hippie after being quoted in the Star Tribune's article(http://www.startribune.com/politics/statelocal/133406223.html) about Minnesotans' feelings about amending the state constitution to make gay marriage illegal. Guess how I feel about it? That's right, I don't like it! Do you want to know why? Because I think everyone should marry who they love, regardless of gender. Because I think that, if there is a God, he is shaking his head about how silly we're being about love. And because I believe in equality. If this makes me a hippie, well, then, where do I sign up for my standard-issue Birkenstocks?

Since it would be nearly impossible to reach an accurate conclusion on my own, I recently took an "Am I A Hippie?" quiz--feel free to do the same here: www.gotoquiz.com/are_you_a_hippie . Based on the fact that I drink low-fat, store bought milk (instead of raw), am not a vegetarian (anymore), live in an apartment (not a commune), plan to wear my baby (instead of use a stroller all the time), am liberal, and the fact that I sometimes enjoy reading poetry, I am considered 58% hippie.

That's plenty for me, I think. You won't find me dancing naked during a full moon or doing interpretive dances on the street for spare change, but you will find me in the kitchen, blending organic peas into a meal for baby Sophie. And I'll probably be barefoot.
xo