Today a friend of mine said the following to me, "Don't take this the wrong way and get mad at me. I'm just sayin' that you should chill out. I don't want you to die of a heart attack because you stress out over a single meal."
For some reason, I felt hurt by this statement. I started second guessing myself and wondered if I really was creating "personal drama" like he said I was doing. I mean, am I just blowing this whole thing out of proportion? Is my son really JUST being a 3 year old? Is my mommy instinct off a little bit? It has never failed me once, why would it all of a sudden be out of tune now? It really bothered me. I went out to dinner tonight with my mom, her husband and my uncle and all I could keep thinking about were the words that were said. "Chill out." "Personal drama." All these silly things kept going through my mind.
I was without my son at dinner and could have easily indulged into the gluttonous of delicious gluten, but had to remain strong for him. I knew at that exact moment that the hurtful words spoken earlier today were stumbling blocks that I needed to leap over. I declined the bun my burger came on, didn't order french fries because I knew I would use ketchup and was selective with my drink choice. All gluten free...all delicious and healthier-ish. (Give a girl a break! I needed to have that medium steak burger more than you could even imagine.)
I came home and expressed my feelings to my husband. I needed his reassurance, even though I KNEW what we are doing is working! It IS working! In these past 5 days of cutting out gluten, there have been improvements. Not just with my son, but with me, too! I'll get to that in a bit. Anyway, my husband spoke the words that I needed to hear. Food can either heal you or kill you. The foods we choose to eat are going to heal us. This was spoken into existence. For the record, I don't care how anyone else chooses to eat. I don't care if you are eating McDonald's Big Macs with a Diet Coke and an apple pie for every single meal of the day. I. Do. Not. Care. What I DO care about is my family and I will do everything and anything it takes to make sure they are healthy and well taken care of. I understand that our life-style is a bit different then most people's, but it works for *us*. I choose to find a better way for everything. It's in my nature to seek out better options, to live a better life, to do better in everything. I have never been the type of person to give my children, or even myself, a pill to mask issues. Never. I am a true believer in nature's gifts to us. That being said, we have had much success going gluten free! I will continue to do this and so will my children, and I will also refuse to allow anyone to try and degrade my choices for doing so.
Improvement: It has only been 5 days since we have started, but I have noticed some interesting changes. My son is starting to talk more. His words are becoming more clear. He is starting to speak in sentences - legible sentences to not just me, but more people are starting to understand him, including the worker at the eye doctor's tonight. He is also taking better naps. It use to be a struggle to put him down for a nap, so I practically gave up and had the attitude of, if he isn't tired or wanting to take a nap, then I won't force him. We all suffered from it. Now, he has been going down for naps around 2:00pm. I nurse him and tell him that it's time to lay down. He does without a struggle. His tantrums aren't nearly as bad. Oh my gosh! Some days I would lock myself in the bathroom just to get a quick breather in. The tantrums were out of control. Now, these tantrums still aren't all peaches and sunshine, but there is an improvement. Those have been the big improvements I have noticed with him.
Now, with me, I haven't had a single head ache! This is big! I thought my headaches were caused by caffeine addiction. This morning I experimented a little bit just to see if it was just some awesome fluke, so I waited a long time before making my super strong pot of coffee. I waited until 1 pm until I made a pot and I didn't make it nearly as strong. (Think Denny's coffee - ya know, really really weak, practically water.) I still didn't have a headache by the time I made it, but I brewed it because I was craving the flavor. As I do my junkie eye twitch. Normally, I would have had a migraine by this point. Seriously, if I don't get my fix by 10 am, I'm doooooooooomed! Nadda. Nothing. Zilch! This is big time here! All this time I thought it was a caffeine addiction. Who would have thought it was something simple like GLUTEN! That sneaky little bastard of an ingredient!
So, there you have it! I won't chill out because I'm seeing results. I will continue to fight for my children because *I* am their biggest advocate and no one else loves them the way I do. And as far as me stressing out to the point of giving me a "heart attack", I have no worries that will happen. I hear Cayenne pepper can stop that almost immediately. *wink*
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