The end is near….

I try to keep this blog mostly about my family and what we are doing and what I am thinking…so right now I am thinking about my tiny little “business” that makes me some extra money. As most of you know, I can use some extra money right now! (hee hee)
In response to the lead found in children’s toys from China in the past few years, the government has passed the “lead law”. I have written many of you an email about this law and the unintended consequences. Some of you have written back and we have had great dialogue concerning this law. Where am I going with bringing this up here?
Well, in this space I feel, as Sherlock Holmes says, “Introspective”. I have time to “talk” to grownups in my otherwise child-filled days….and I am just sad that our government totally overlooked all the small people that make up this great country.
In trying to regulate imports…and in ignoring all the small home businesses that make clothes and toys, the Government created a law that will essentially shut down millions of home businesses in America. After Feb. 10, I will not be able to sell my clothes online. I will not be able to buy cute handmade in America clothes or toys for my kids. I will be forced by this law to buy things only from manufacturers large enough to absorb the outrageous cost of testing….which means that once again big business “wins” and “made in the USA” loses, except where big US businesses are concerned.
I am sad because I don’t want my kids to only have toys from China. This has been a struggle for me for a long time. When China held our Servicemen and women hostage, I tried to boycott products from China. It was awful. I learned that many of our “Made in America” companies outsource much of their products to China. I was especially frustrated by the products that found sneaky ways to hide the fact that the product actually came from China. I ended up realizing that the person who actually made whatever it was that I was buying, was some poor nobody like me…and began praying for that person each time I bought something that came from China.
Why go into all of this? Because I think that our county has seriously traded integrity for lower costs. I also think that we have traded safety and safely manufactured products for lower cost and cheaply made products. We have been so concerned with “having it all” that we have lost the ability to discern whether or not we need it all. ( I am including myself in this…) I also think that we are entrusting our childrens safety to a country that doesn’t like us. Why are we giving China this kind of power???? To me, this is just another form of holding us hostage. Why are we shutting down millions of American small businesses in favor of China businesses???? Does anyone else see the ridiculousness of this????
And on a personal note…I will continue sewing and creating for children. I know that I cannot “sell” my goods, but I am still going to sew…I am not going to give up the talents that God gave me by quitting. If you want something made by me, I will be happy to sew it for you. I will be happy to work out a trade or something! I, for one, am not willing to live in a world where all the children are dressed in Big Box Store Clothes playing with toys that come from China. If you want a soft doll made, I will be happy to make that for you, too. As far as being in business…that is out for me after Feb. 10. But as far as my sewing and creating goes…that will continue as usual for me!