Normal.
Sometimes we go through our days and forget the beauty of normal. I don’t think it’s intentional, it’s more as if we get stuck in the routine – the ins and outs and dishes and laundry and vacuuming and cooking and cleaning and the doing it agains – and the normal stuff seems to get forgotten. It’s hard to celebrate that at times, especially when it feels, well, so boring and tedious at times.
Then there are the moments in our lives where normal is taken from us. We’ve all had them – those moments where that normal previously boring routine was stripped from us and we’re left longing for the days when the biggest stress was a messy kitchen or laundry that never seems to end.
I remember.
I remember when (my now four year old) Samuel was diagnosed with Celiac Disease walking through Target crying. Well, not the full-fledge cry with tears pouring down my face, but rather that type of cry where you fight to keep the tears tucked within your eyelids. It’s the cry that if someone asked you are you okay in that very second you would no longer be okay and the tears would begin to pour.
I missed normal. I missed being able to push that large red cart through the store and to be able to throw in anything without having to scrutinize the label. Well, wait. I loved that I had a diagnosis for Samuel. I loved it. But, in those moments all I could see were the kids running up to the bakery section of Target waiting for their free cookie.
I knew Samuel would never get that free gluten full cookie.
(click gluten free pumpkin bars to find our favorite treat instead)
And in those moments my heart ached. Of course, of course I was profoundly grateful for a diagnosis for my little boy who, in those days, was fading away in front of me. But, I also was learning to let go of a life that I thought would be his normal. No matter what the diagnosis or issue is that strips normal from you one must still go through a process of accepting a new normal.
But the cool thing about eating gluten free was that vitality and energy returned for Samuel and we found normal. In fact, now today, I can walk through Target and past all the bread, the cookies, the snacks, and all the gluten full stuff and not feel that ache that I felt those cold February days. Samuel has grown up knowing that gluten hurts his tummy and honestly never lets the fact that he can’t have a cookie bother him. Now, as a family rule, no one gets the cookie if Samuel is around simply because we love and support him and his gluten free journey.
That’s the cool thing about normal – even when it’s gone it can return. The reality is that normal will look different, but the new normal doesn’t have to be any less cool than the previous.
For Samuel eating gluten free saved his life. That’s the thing with Celiac Disease – gluten literally destroys the lining of the gut making it impossible to absorb nutrients. You remove the gluten and the body heals and food can be absorbed and processed. So energy, vitality, and health return.
Living gluten free doesn’t have to mean living without. Living gluten free, in fact, can be living alive and healthy.
For Samuel? And for those with Celiac Disease? Living gluten free is a gift. It’s a way to live life and to eat so that one stays healthy.
That’s normal.
And that normal is beautiful.
So today, today, I ask you to look at your own journey. Maybe you’re in a time when all you want is normal to return. Sweet mother, it will return. Or maybe you’re in a spot where the tediousness of the every day is making you want to run laps around your house (not here – it’s too cold). Celebrate normal. That’s the beauty of normal – it’s to be celebrated. So take a second, look around your space, and find something beautiful.
Normal is beautiful.
#littlethingsmatter
*****
As a mother with a child with Celiac Disease I consider it a great honor to be a voice of awareness. I also love celebrating normal – and I know many of you today just needed a reminder to step back, to look at normal, and to be grateful. Because I am blessed to speak out about living gluten free and raising a child with Celiac Disease I consider it an honor to partner with Udi’s Gluten Free as a brand ambassador. Their products truly helped normal return in our home. I’ve been blessed to not only partner with them but also to visit them at their home office in Denver, Colorado. They’re as awesome as I talk about. For real.
Learn more about living gluten free! Visit http://udisglutenfree.com/
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Udi’s Gluten Free. The opinions and text are all mine.
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this is a must have grocery shopping guide – it even contains listings for many generic/store brands
I used this cookbook last Christmas and was very pleased with the results. The cookies were easy to make and the kids loved them.