This will be my last post in May about Celiac. Don't worry--it'll come up again as I continue to write about life (it's too much a part of me now not too), but lets be honest--LJ is way more fun to look at it than hearing about Celiac.
The three hardest things about living with Celiac for me are:
1. Having to constantly plan. Don't get me wrong--I'm a planner, but not being able to randomly decide that I want a donut or McDonalds on a road trip is painful at times. There are only so many things that I can eat, so boredom sets in rather quickly, and when you eliminate the idea of being spontaneous with food, I'm really tested.
2. Dairy. Many Celiacs can't tolerate dairy either. It took me almost two years to finally accept the fact that I am one of them. Apparently, some can tolerate it in the future when they are fully healed, but I'm becoming less and less hopeful. It was March of this year when I finally accepted it and went completely dairy free. I honestly think being dairy free (which is different than just lactose free) is more difficult than being gluten-free. The good news, though--I feel a whole lot better.
3. Not letting Celiac define who I am. Sometimes I really hate the fact that I can't go an entire day without saying the words "gluten-free." I despise having to be the "special diet" person at BBQs, weddings, restaurants, etc. I rarely get mad at people who don't have any clue how hard it is to eat gluten-free, because everyone has their own thing in life, but I do get jealous. I'm jealous that they get to be known by their first name, the job they do, the cool thing they say, not by what they can or cannot eat.
Thank you for reading this month and learning a little about Celiac and gluten-free life.
Thank you to my wonderful husband who is my biggest advocate, personal chef and best friend ever.
Thank you to my family and friends who have been nothing but supportive and overwhelmingly helpful as I navigate this life.
And finally, thank you world for gluten-free food.
Just discovered your blog! I hope you do continue to give good GF suggestions for the Twin Cities and midwest. It is getting easier to be gluten free, but we will always have to plan ahead. I keep Luna GF bars at work, at home, in my purse and car for those times when I can't trust a place to feed me (more often that I would like). Keep up the blog!
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