The Scenic Route

My dad loves to tell stories. His enthusiastic tales are packed with animated facial expressions and energetic body language. He devours statistics and can always be counted on for a halftime score with a report that would make Joe Nuxall a tad envious. When he was little, my grandparents would take them on Sunday drives. Life was simpler then. Kids weren't over scheduled, cable didn't exist and families ate dinner together. They picked a destination, got in the car, drove, talked, soaked in the world around them and enjoyed the company of each other. When my dad spoke of his Sunday drive experience, he remembered being stuck in the car with his brother, but I'm quite sure my grandpa was enjoying every minute with his beautiful wife and I know my grandma was equally enjoying having all of her boys together without distractions. As an adult, my dad took us to see the Christmas lights each year and is a huge fan of taking the scenic route or the "long way" home. He tells stories along the way that we've heard time and time again, yet they never seem to get old. I share my dads love of nostalgia and scenic routes and have come to the conclusion that sometimes getting lost is the best way to find your way back home, just make sure you take in the scenery along the way.

Puzzles

Puzzles. I've always enjoyed trying to piece things together. Knowledge, relationships, projects and events. I don't always get it right, but the process is usually similar. Lately I've been trying to stand back and map out my method of madness and I keep coming back to the simplest method I know...putting together a puzzle. I typically begin with the outline of the puzzle, specifically the four corners. Once I work my way past the outside, I work myself in until I reach the center of the puzzle. Only then can I see what I need to see. Seems like a good way to cultivate a friendship. One more puzzling word of note...when you get to the center...stand back and take a good look at the big picture.

Hope

A friend recently asked me to speak about hope. After going gluten free and feeling like a new person, I thought it would be easy to come up with something inspiring. So many wonderful things have happened as a result of my new found energy and awareness of the world around me, but I really had to ponder about the topic of hope. It has been at least one month since I spoke to that group of kids and hope keeps drifting back into my life. I think that all we really need to be happy is to feel our life is meaningful, to feel appreciated and to have hope when we might otherwise give up. What a wise friend I have. Have a hopeful 2010.

Melting Away

So I've lost about 26 pounds since going gluten free and now milk free. The weight is melting off, literally. I've survived Halloween, Thanksgiving and 1 Holiday Party. Giving up gluten was difficult in the beginning. Nobody really understands what you are going through and most haven't even heard of gluten. Try explaining gluten free to somebody. Even the word gluten sounds funny. Do I miss gluten? Sometimes. But I don't miss the 26 pounds and the wide range of horrible symptoms that came into my life because of it.
I am awake, really awake. I SEE my kids and really hear them when they talk to me because I don't feel like I have the flu 24/7.


Before giving up gluten, I felt like crap, like the stay puff marshmallow lady...swollen. I knew that I wasn't just heavy, I was ill and it kept getting worse and worse...and I have worked at a health club for 11 years....

If you have issues with gluten,  # 1 be your own advocate and journal, journal, journal. Do not give up gluten until you get tested. This could produce a false negative and make your diagnosis take longer. I was lucky. My nurse practitioner took me seriously from the moment that I suspected Celiac Disease or Gluten Intolerance and has helped me every step of the way! #2 Check out http://glutenfreegirl.blogspot.com/. I just happened to read Shauna James Ahern's book... Gluten Free Girl before I came across her blog. She is amazing! Buy the book (Gluten Free Girl) and follow the blog.

the path to less cynical and more sentimental

Little thing # 1
Who stole the manners, I used to think? Who took them from us and where did they put them? When did we stop teaching our children to wait to eat until everyone has a plate of food in front of them? Why do teenagers walk in front of elderly people in public and not even think to hold a door for a pregant mother? In this busy Holiday season, please give your kids the gift of manners. Fill their stockings to the brim!
A parent of my son's friend told me that Gabe had wonderful manners today. "That Gabe is such a great kid, you must be so proud. His manners are wonderful." Apparently he held the door for an adult, would not enter first and also remembered his P & T (Please and Thank-you). It really is how they act out of our presence that matters, isn't it?