Misery Loves Company, and So Do I

Misery loves company, or so the saying goes.

I have several gf-friends who simply love the gluten-free life. They love everything about it. They sing the praises of its health effects, and evangelize for their favorite gf products. "I love being gluten-free!" they chirp. "It's amazing!"

On many days, I'm right there with them. But when I'm honest, I have to admit that I don't 100% love being gluten free. It's a pain and a hassle, and it makes me something of a difficult dinner guest. "Did you chop the onions on the wooden cutting board? Ooohhh... that's not good..." I'm prone to getting stuck in airports for 12-hour stretches, and these airports usually have nothing but a rack of candy and a McDonald's. When I'm on a road trip and I've consumed all of my string cheese, Shaar crackers, and almond butter, and I'm dying for warm food... Then I am not happy to be gluten-free. I want to go through the drive-through like 99% of the American population does, and order a Big Mac. With extra bun.

That said, I certainly don't wish gluten-intolerance upon anyone. I'd prefer to be the only one who was eating a Lara bar in a room full of breakfast pastries. But since celiac is incredibly common, and since gluten-free products are becoming even more so, I'm grateful for the company. I love my gf blogging friends, my real-life gf friends, and running into a random gf-person at Trader Joe's while mulling over the same row of pastas. It's nice to have company.

This is why I'm both sad and happy to report... I'm no longer the only gf-er in my family.

Meet my mom. And my cute little niece (who, luckily, can happily eat all the gluten she wants!).

My mom has had a whole host of random medical symptoms over the past several years. Doctors gave her the run-around, including testing her for things she flat-out knew she didn't have. They never figured it out, and she was left with a mystery.  And lots of high blood pressure medication.

After my husband and I spent much of the summer with her, she saw the gluten-free system firsthand. She even figured out gluten-free cooking herself, and cooked dozens of meals for me, including a delicious turkey-sausage and bean soup and a killer chocolate mousse. Yum.

After I left at the end of the summer, she decided to give the gf life a try after a particularly bad bout of sickness after attending the Minnesota State Fair. She and my dad  (and Cait, Caroline and Jared) ate the same State Fair food together all day, often from the same container. Mom got super-sick. Dad didn't. It couldn't be food poisoning, unless it was gluten.

After a gluten-free week, she called me.

"This is amazing!" she said. "I feel SO much better! My clothes fit normally again! I lost five pounds in three days, even though I was eating lots of gf food! I have tried eating dairy and it doesn't make me sick anymore!" She shared with me that she could wear her wedding ring again, and that hadn't fit her properly for several years. Then her voice went to a whisper.

"And my MIND feels so much better! I really thought I had early-onset Alzheimer's, but that mental fogginess is all gone!" Ah, the glutenous brain-fog. 

It's too soon to see if all of her health issues have been taken care of by avoiding gluten, but we're hopeful. It certainly worked for me! Since her first gf week she's been sending me restaurant and bakery links, and I've been sharing my own gf-knowledge from the past year. She is feeling a hundred times better, and I'm thrilled for the company.

So... what's for Christmas dinner, mom?