Today I am doing a little pondering. I do more and more of that as I mature (get older). No reason to say just how old I am, but we all know that I'm a Grandmother and so that would mean I have put a few years behind me. Anyway back to the pondering. This past year I have learned a lot about food allergies and the past several years I have learned a lot about sugar and carbs. I like what I have learned. I feel like I am healthier and happier physically, more informed mentally and more empathetic emotionally.
Over the years I have experienced food in many different ways. It has been a part of celebrations, a reward, a companion, a comfort and a delight! Christmas couldn't possibly be Christmas without cherry pudding. What would a camp out be without s'mores? I've made birthday cakes in the shape of dump trucks and Barbies. I've entered the Pillsbury Cook off (never winning, of course) and even won a local cooking contest with my famous marshmellow brownies. I've bought sugary popsicles for a sick child, and special treats for 100% scores on spelling test. I've rewarded my piano students with treats for every day of practice and I've achieved reverence in my church class with suckers and tootsie rolls. I've popped popcorn for a movie, made hot chocolate for after tubing, and always had lemonade and cookies for when we got out of the pool. I was first to sign up for room mother and spent hours making spider cakes for Halloween and sugar cookies for Valentines day. If a neighbor was sick or having a hard time I've baked them a treat or some homemade bread.
My goodness as I ponder I realize that food was apart of everything. Good? Bad? Maybe neither, but worth pondering and considering what I have learned and how it has changed the way I look at food.
My husband had always been borderline diabetic. His Mother died of complications of diabetes. He knew he should be watching his weight and what he ate, but how could he be asked to give up his chocolate milk and Snickers bar. Anyway, it was borderline, right?
Then it wasn't. One check up several years ago it tipped the scales and now he had full blown type two diabetes. Was he really overweight. No. Maybe only ten or twenty pounds, but did that matter? No. The prognosis was still the same. If you don't do something now you will damage your body to the extent that you will experience blindness, amputation or death. All consequences of untreated diabetes. Ponder that!
We began to see food a little differently that day and over the past few years as we have watched our carbs, refined flours, and sugars we have also become educated about good foods and eating habits. We have learned that food can make you healthy or it can kill you. We have chosen healthy and it is good. My husband is no longer on any meds for diabetes and his numbers are back in the healthy zone. Does that mean that we never eat a sweet treat or share a fry? Of course not. But we do it sparingly and we often replace it with a nice crispy apple or a healthy serving of salad. It's great and we hope that it will help us stay healthy and backpacking for many years to come.
Last year we learned that our little Mazzy Mae had a peanut allergy. Would this mean more changes to our diet? Certainly. Could we make them and still be happy? Sure. Would it take some effort? Yes, but well worth it. And most of all would we learn from it and become better because of it? I hope so.
As I ponder my experience with food these last few years I am grateful that I am being taught. Taught that food was meant to keep our bodies healthy, not cause disease. Taught that food doesn't need to be part of a good time. Taught that life isn't all about food and that even if it were I would sacrifice for those that I love so that they could be safe and healthy.
In a society plagued with food related health problems, obesity, and a rising population of food allergic children maybe we should all take a minute to ponder what role food plays in our lives and to make adjustments if we don't like what we see. Let's find joy in a hike, a book, a friend, a hobby, a museum, a playground, a concert, a ballgame, a sunset, a snowstorm, a quiet moment, a crowded room... let's put food in it's place and always remember that life is wonderful with or without the cupcake!
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