It’s the peak of cedar season in South Texas, which is where I am. Levels of Cedar pollen, to which I am highly allergic, are very high, as are the Juniper levels. I am living in a camper, in the middle of a drought, and under what I would definitely call “stressful conditions.” That all adds up to a perfectly horrific allergy season for me.
How-e-v-e-r…. (those hyphens are to emphasize how slowly I’m saying the word) I am NOT dying! Last year, I was totally dying. Like, up all night, nose swollen shut, eyes itching and red, snot-filled, headaches… SICK. I broke down and let the doctor give me a nasty cortisone shot, it was so bad, just so I could resume normal life. It was awful.
This year…. I am the least sick in our camperhold! (That’s like ‘household’ sans ‘house.’) It’s truly amazing.
“I say, Watson, it just makes no sense!”
I’m not going to get TOO excited, since Honey (our only ‘allergy-free’ family member who is usually the healthiest of us all) has been suffering and keeping us both up. I mean, where exactly are you supposed to go in here when you can’t sleep or need to blow your nose in the middle of the night? It’s a strange, strange turn of events, for sure, that he’s the sick one, and not having to take care of me. I also don’t know for sure that I won’t be affected at all, so I certainly don’t want to get cocky about it.
So, why am I well, when I’m usually the one sniffing and swelling and crying in anguish? I can attribute it to nothing other than my gluten-free diet. I haven’t changed anything else, we aren’t eating very well, I’m not taking massive doses of antihistamines (just normal doses), and I’ve not been taking vitamins. I’ve done plenty of things in the past to try and make it unscathed through the allergy season, and nothing worked. For 34 years, nothing worked! I have had horrible winters my whole life, and have passed the same fate on to my children. Who would have ever dreamed that removing wheat, barley and rye products from my diet would have made ANY difference, let alone such a dramatic one.
So, not only have I felt better overall, had tons more energy, better moods, etc…. now my allergies are drastically reduced. What a blessing. I just wonder how many others would be helped by the same elimination. How many people that show no signs of intestinal distress, or symptoms that would indicate a gluten intolerance, really DO have this issue? Hmmm.
I can guarantee my doctors would never have believed this would work. Believe me… they’ve all thought I was nuts at one or more visits, and my GP definitely didn’t agree with my attempts at self-diagnosis, or recommend a GF diet. But, that’s just one more instance of proof that WE know our bodies better than anyone else, and we can be in control of our well-being. We PAY the doctors for their opinions, but we need to be responsible for our own health. They are there when we need them, thankfully, but they are not always right, either. Sometimes prayer and research, and being the person with the most interest in the welfare of yourself and those you love makes YOU the best practitioner for your family.
Okay, I’m done with that. It sounds like I might be a little bit bitter about this subject, doesn’t it? Maybe I would feel better if I just went back to my GP, stuck my tongue out, and yelled, “so, there!!” Maybe not. Maybe if he hadn’t told me that “a little information can be harmful,” which translates directly from almighty doctorish into English as, “Just because you read a little bit on the internet doesn’t mean you know what you’re talking about” or, loosely, “Stop reading and learning, and just do what I say,” I wouldn’t be so bitter.
No, really, I’m done.
I’m glad to be feeling good, because I think I would be in the nearest Hampton Inn by now if I didn’t. To say that we’re ‘ready to be out of this camper’ would be the understatement of the year. Last year, since this one’s new and might not have many statements with which to compare.
We are SO ready to be out of here. We’re praying our tenants get to leave a few days early, so we can get in there and at LEAST get the master bedroom done. Then we can put air mattresses on the floor in that room while we finish the rest of the house and at least use a real toilet. Ahhhh… a real toilet. And have a real shower. And a bath! I won’t even have to move a laundry basket out of the shower to get in.
It’s only 15 days now, though, so we’re on the home stretch. Lord willing, by the end of the month, we’ll have all our furniture in, and can resume life. It’s been good for us to be here, I’m sure. I’m not sure how or WHY, but I trust that God knows just what we need, when we need it, and I’m really sorry for whatever I did to need this, lol. I won’t do it again.
We are trying to work really hard on schoolwork for the next couple weeks, so we can take a break for the major work weeks. Another break. Ugh. We will definitely not have a summer break this year. We did get passes to Sea World, though, so we’re hoping to still get to have some fun, even if it’s just on weekdays after we finish our school day. Flexibility… big time bonus of homeschooling! I’m sure I’ve said that before.
Dinner is almost ready, and then maybe we’ll play some Scrabble Slam, or Cranium, two of our recently most-played family games. You can only sit and look at each other for so long before someone gets choked, you know. And that is no exaggeration. That’s why crime rates are so high in RV parks.
Okay, I have no data to back that up, but I’m convinced. Some of our neighbors scream at each other regularly, and I don’t even wonder why. I know. And I expect the same understanding from them. That’s what being neighbors is all about here.
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