Sunday, June 12, 2011

Lessons Life Has Taught Me

Every now and then we have to take a break from out usual to look at things we seem to ignore most of the time. For me, that would be the part of my life that doesn't include working all the time and always doing something. Sometimes we get so wrapped up in what we're working toward that we forget to just sit back and enjoy the ride. Don't get me wrong, it is great to have goals to work toward and the feeling of accomplishment when you get there.  But it's those little things along the way that make the journey worth it, and if we are too distracted by what we're doing to notice we miss out on all the wonderful things. As we get older, we start to wonder about what we would do if we could go back. Would we change the way we handled things? In a simple word, no. While some experiences in my life have been painful, or awkward, or just downright depressing, I learned something important from every one of them. I learned that sometimes people aren't what they seem, you have to be careful who you trust, and that bad things happen. What matters is what you learn from it and how you handle the situation next time. I firmly believe that we all have room for improvement and as we go along, we get better. Becoming gluten free after being diagnosed as a Celiac was part of my self improvement. It was awful at first and I didn't want to deal with it at all. But as time went on, I learned to deal with it and eventually decided to stop feeling sorry for myself and turn my diagnosis into a way to help others like me. The hardest thing to do is fight something when you feel all alone. Realizing that you aren't alone changes everything. It makes you realize there are other people out there going through the same thing as you. That simple little fact makes it easier to deal with. Without Celiac Disease, I would not have grown to be the person I am today. I wouldn't have this need to help others like me however I can. In a way, I am actually thankful for my Celiac. It made me realize a purpose I never would have seen without it. Everything in life happens for a reason, I believe that now more than ever. As hard as it may be at the time, you just have to stop and realize what that reason is.

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Gluten Free Rice Krispies

There has been a lot of hype the past few months on the gluten free Rice Krispies that were to be released in June. Of course this news had the gluten free community patiently awaiting the arrival of the cereal, and still has me waiting. 






Every time I go to any store that carries cereal, I have to go look and see if it has made it to the shelves yet. When you stop and think about it, it really is funny that a person can get so excited about cereal. The truth is, it's really like a new toy to a child. Something new and different than what we have every day, and hopefully, something better than what we have had before. I'll say this about my Celiac Disease, it really has made me appreciate the little things in life. It has also made me a lot less picky about the foods I'll eat. My basic rule now is this..if it's gluten free, I'll try it. I guess that can be chalked up to one more thing the gluten free diet has done for me. 
For now, I will continue waiting patiently for the Rice Krispies to make it to stores here in my hometown. Hopefully they will make it soon.