Photo: Max Cameron
Max Cameron
What was your journey to having the family life you have today?I’m originally from Toronto and my wife Lily is originally from Southern California. Before we had actually met, Lily was attending UC Berkley and living in Oakland and I was flying back and forth to San Francisco from Canada for work. During one of my trips, we matched on JSwipe, which is like Tinder for Jewish people, and we started chatting. At first, she was really skeptical about this guy from Canada who was just in and out for a week but we started talking more and eventually, we ended up getting a coffee and getting to know each other better.
I don’t believe in love at first sight, or at least I didn’t up until that point, but when I met her, I just had this feeling of certainty that I had met my partner for life. I offered to cancel my flight so I could spend the weekend in the city with her. We ended up having dinner that night and from that point forward, we were inseparable. After a few months, I asked the company I was working for if they would allow me to move to San Francisco and they said yes. I sort of immediately moved in with Lily and the rest was history.
I had asked Lily what she wanted to do once we got back home, and she said wanted to open up a little store to help people get started with the zero waste lifestyle. I suggested that she start online, and we opened theWild Minimalistwebsite. The company grew way faster than I anticipated, and we decided to go full time so we quit our jobs and put everything into the business.
For us, being zero waste is not an absolute. We’re not a family that can fit all of our garbage in a mason jar. Although it’s a powerful symbol, I don’t think it’s very helpful for the movement at large. We still produce a small amount of garbage every week and we’re okay with that. We also know it can also be unrealistic for people who don’t live in communities that enable you to live a zero waste lifestyle. We’re in the Bay Area and we are so privileged here to have grocery stores that allow us to bring our own jars so we can buy freshly ground peanut butter or refill our olive oil. Not everybody has that. But if you’re doing your best to find one small thing that you can do every week to swap out a single use plastic item for a reasonable alternative, and getting a little bit better every month, that’s what I think zero waste is all about.
How did your upbringing influence your parenting style?I’m very lucky to come from a family where my parents are still married after 45 years. My father always made sure that I knew right from wrong. He taught me things like holding the door for elderly people and giving them your seat on the bus. He taught me to treat others with respect and how to stand up for myself. These are the type of values I’m looking forward to passing onto my kids.
What’s your favorite thing about parenting?The mornings are my favorite part. Since we’re small business owners, Lily and I have flexible schedules so we were able to avoid sleep training. I get to spend the first couple hours of the day alone with our son and we have so much fun together. I’m super lucky to have a schedule that accommodates my father-son time. You only get one shot at parenting, especially when they’re little, so it’s something I value 100 percent.
A big part of having a healthy relationship involves taking care of yourself, too. Including self care into your routine is super important. When it comes to our relationship, Lily and I will spend quality time together cooking, talking and hanging out once Grant goes down for the night, which is usually around 7:00 p.m.
What’s the best advice you can share with new parents?The best advice I can give is to ignore all the advice that you get from other people except for my advice, which is to explore all of the different approaches to parenting and go with one that works for you. It’s important to approach parenting in a nonjudgmental way, and that includes not judging yourself. Most importantly, don’t forget to enjoy the ride.
Also, if you’re interested in zero waste, there is an incredible community of online bloggers, and stores like ours, that share a ton ofhelpful information that can help you get started. Whether it’s buying second-hand clothing or trying out cloth diapers, you should research and engage with online communities because there’s a whole bunch of people out there that just want to help others on their journey to zero waste. That’s certainly why we started our business and that’s what we’ve devoted ourselves to. Every small step counts.
What would you want your kid to say about you as a parent?I would be really happy if Grant was able to say that I was always there for him, that I always listened and helped him through whatever he was struggling with. Lily and I are always going to be here to support Grant with whatever he needs and we’re very excited to watch him as he goes on his own journeys through life.
source: people.com
