Diapers and Gratitude
A few months ago, I was returning an unopened box of Pampers to one of the club stores in Rochester. My little guy was between sizes, and I was dealing with a lot of leaky diapers. I explained why I was returning the diapers to the woman at customer service, and she said she understood. She really liked that brand, and she also had a seven-month-old baby who was in between size 2 and 3 diapers. Then, while continuing to smile, she shared that she was currently buying diapers at our city’s public market because they sold packs of 10 and, although the price was very high per diaper, that was the best she could do now. She chuckled and said she would buy the big box, like the box I was returning, once she got her tax refund.
I felt a wave of sadness come over me. I knew that 1 in 3 families in the U.S. experienced diaper need and that low-income families paid a lot more per diaper because they didn’t have the funds to buy big boxes or the transportation and membership to access stores that provide a discount. I had even written that line on materials discussing diaper need during my volunteer work for both ROC City Bottoms Diaper Bank and its successor, the Junior League of Rochester Diaper Bank. We’d heard similar stories from our partner agencies who worked with the families in need directly. But I’d never heard it directly from another mom of a baby the same age as mine.
As I was walking around the store doing my shopping, I couldn’t stop thinking about that mom and fighting back tears. Here I was, buying another 3 big boxes of diapers and wipes for my kids without a second thought. My family was fortunate enough to have the funds to buy diapers cheaper in bulk, and I wouldn’t need to make frequent trips to the public market to keep buying enough diapers to keep my baby dry. If we got a tax refund, it would go into our home renovation fund. But that mom, an employee of a club store, didn’t have those luxuries.
Gratitude can be difficult when you live with a chronic illness. Your illness impacts every area of your life, and the days can be filled with disappointment and sadness. I have adjustment disorder type depression. So, it remains hard to accept that I am living with this vestibular migraine condition for the rest of my life and that I may never work as an attorney the way I once did. Even after more than six years of being sick, there are days when its hard to be grateful for the things I have and the things that I still get to do.
But in that moment at the store, I was so very grateful that I have enough diapers and wipes for my baby and toddler. That I can change them frequently so that they don’t get severe diaper rash or infections. That if they do get diaper rash, I can buy the cream that they need to heal. Although I am no longer involved in the day to day work of the JLR Diaper Bank, I vowed to continue to support them in every way I can.
For more information on the JLR Diaper Bank or to make a donation, please visit their website. Not local to Rochester? You can visit the National Diaper Bank Network to learn more about diaper need in the United States and find a local diaper bank.