Day to Day Change

Unfortunately for my family , this gluten-free lifestyle change affects them, too. We are a busy family. We homeschool. My husband works from home. We are always together - for better and for worse. To make sure our children do not become 'THOSE Homeschoolers' (you know the ones I mean - the cliché, grind your own grain, sew your own clothes, remove yourselves from society homeschoolers), we let them participate in several extracurricular activities. First and most importantly, we are active in our local church. Second, we are all active Girl Scouts (yes, even my husband). And third, we are active in sports, which I count as the Girls' PE. They average 1-2 hours of dance or softball 4-5 days per week.

This schedule does not allow for many home-cooked dinners around the table. We eat out a lot. Our main Family Meal is usually lunch, and dinner can be anything from a cup of cereal in the car to Moe's burritos or Chick-fil-a en route from ballet to Wednesday night services. It just depends on the day. All of this to say, not only has this gluten-free thing changed WHAT I can eat, it has also changed where and when we all eat.

So what are we doing? How are we handling this acute change? As best we can. I've given away most of my favorite baking mixes and go-to quick meals. I've stocked the pantry with just about every rice flour and potato flour and almond meal I can find, and I am slowly relearning how to cook. We are eating a lot more cereal for dinner, and my Girls are getting much better at fending for themselves. If I have a meeting or something else going on, my husband takes them to our favorite restaurants where I'm afraid I couldn't resist the yeasty goodness of the fresh baked bread. We are eating at home more. We are eating much later at night (you can still only do so much when everyone is gone from 4-7:30 every night). We are waiting for dance and ball to be over so that we can figure out a new schedule that works for all of us.

In the meantime, we are praying daily that this works and that my immune system decides to function and fight disease again. Because really? As much as I like bread, I like being not-sick and spending time with my family even more. Our God is a good God, and I truly believe He can do this for me. All I have to do is wait and hope. And if He decides to make me stay this way, I'll gripe and moan and complain for awhile, but then I'll suck it up and just deal.