Last week I spent the weekend with the love of my life, in a cozy little cabin nestled in the woods in the Pocono mountains near the sparsely populated historic town of Milford along the Delaware River. We had an incredible time getting to know each other intimately, while cooking together, playing some of our favorite music loudly and dancing wildly like teenagers having a party in the absence of parents, and making love in ways I never imagined possible at nearly fifty years young!

She isn't far behind me in age, and for neither of us is this our first go-around. She and I both have children from previous marriages, both of which are in the separation stages. And even before that, we have both had our fair share of life experiences as anyone likely has who is reading this relating and understanding. And although our rational minds tell us to take things slow and proceed with caution, our hearts and souls are moving at light speed.

Upon learning one another's likes, dislikes, tastes, mannerisms, and quirks, one of the things which drew us towards each other many months ago when we first met is our respective self-care regimen, and our regard for environmental stewardship in more ways than simply not being litterbugs. To make it clear, we met after I had spent an entire summer posting content about how I engage in urban permaculture and have turned many front yards into sustainable, pollinator friendly, native, wild, and edible habitats.

She had commented on some of my posts about foraging Mugwort from the yard, so I offered to bring her what I had already dried and ready for consumption. Turns out she intended to use the Mugwort as a smudge, much like one would do with Sage. I bundled the stalks with some freshly picked Lavender which I grew myself and had much more than I would ever know what to do with. She was attending a festival where I was booked to perform in the Fall so we agreed to meet up and make the exchange. My homegrown plants, for her amazingly beautiful heart. Truthfully, I hadn't planned it that way, but who am I to argue with the serendipitous nature of our collective existence?

We did a lot of talking betwixt the mating rituals and bubble baths. I fell more in love with her when she admitted to being a self-described crunchy. As if her seductive, enchanting pheromones didn't give it away. I confided in her from the onset of our becoming acquainted how difficult it is for someone as radically hippy-dippy as me to find a woman devoid of asthma inducing, cancer causing scents. I knew from having sat with her on a bench at the festival that her essence was more than tolerable to my senses. Even though the universe attempted to interfere and distract me from the call of her siren song, my soul malingered in her direction and ultimately wrestled my mind, body and heart until I surrendered to the reality that she and I were destined to be divinely in love.

After checking out of the weekend getaway, we agreed neither of us were in a rush to end the rendezvous, so we drove into town and, perhaps for the first time in my life, were happy to have run into holiday traffic. It was all the excuse we needed to park and have a leisurely afternoon stroll around downtown Milford just as the Saint Patrick's Day parade was making its way down Main Street. We were both genuinely drawn to the same stores, only the ones peddling appreciable goods, wares, and crafts. Upon perusal of several vendors, we noticed a store with the word apothecary in the name. In we went, to The Mad Soapper

As she examined the soaps and crystals like any well-disciplined, self-respecting crunchy-at-heart woman would, I quickly noticed the health and beauty products were not only of a highly bougie calibre, the packaging was almost entirely zero-waste. It was the first time I have seen lip balms packaged in tubular push-up tubes made of cardboard, devoid of any single-use plastic. And if you know me, you know this is just the sort of thing that gets my attention as a small business consultant.

In my career I have coached many in their pursuit of more sustainable lifestyles and business practices. I have helped food trucks convert from plasticware to compostable and reusable damn near everything, I have shown proprietors and entrepreneurs things like digital business cards and merchandising using recycled, upcycled, and repurposed materials. And I have even dealt with my fair share of pushback from the understandably reluctant.

I must admit, after meeting Leila Hazou, the owner, artisan, and exceptional representative of this small local business, I was more thoroughly impressed by her operation. She forges most of the products in-house, and she goes out of her way to precure the most sustainable packaging she can without compromising the integrity of the product. She explained how she attempts to keep the cost as affordable as possible, and I told her, as I have many of my clients, don't be afraid to charge what your efforts and its fruits are worth. Her effort and dedication shows through the products and the ambiance of the store; the best way a customer can appreciate it is by spending their hard earned money and taking home something that can feel better about than the garbage most of us typically purchase from big corporations who don't give a shit about our wellbeing and our environment.

Keri, the woman of my dreams, and I shall return to Leila's shop soon. I asked her if she would record a podcast with me and she said yes. I look forward to it. I'm sure I will need some soap by then.