charity: water

A little disclaimer right from the start, this blog post has nothing to do with Celiac Disease.  Instead I want to take this opportunity to introduce you to an organization that I learned about last September called, charity: water.  

Can you imaging giving this "drinking" water to your child?  Would you drink it yourself?  Would you even give it to your pets?  Clean water is something that we take for granted Every. Single. Day.  We spend millions of dollars each year to buy ourselves the best water we can get via water softeners, special sink faucet attachments, purifying water pitchers and bottled water.  To have clean, drinkable water that won't make us sick is a basic human necessity.  Yet for countless men, women and children around the world, the ONLY drinking water they have is filthy, polluted, insect infested and disease ridden.

photo from charity: water's website https://www.charitywater.org/

Pastor Edgar from New Hope Church in Moville, Iowa brought us his message, "To Infinity and Beyond: Giving is Good" yesterday.  In September, he shared with us a video for charity: water that touched my heart so deeply. In fact, I remember that I had a Starbucks specialty coffee drink with me that I ended up not being able to finish and had to throw out because it tasted sour to me after watching the video and seeing so many beautiful little children and their families who were drinking filthy water because this is the only water available to them and here I was with my specialty coffee. These people were contracting diseases, having tumors grow in their bodies and dying simply because the water they have to drink is so filthy and not fit for consumption.  The founder, Scott Harrison, seen in this video, not only explained about charity: water and how it came about, but told the stories of these amazing children here in this land of plenty we live in, who were fundraising for charity: water by donating their birthdays and asking others to do the same. I knew right then and there that I wanted to do this. 

Three months from today, I will be turning 50 (April 29th).  I can't think of any better way to celebrate half a century on this Earth than by giving back and helping others by donating my birthday to charity: water.  I also decided to give up my specialty coffees because of the thought of how much that money would be able to do toward bringing clean water to those who need it. I usually end up with a specialty coffee drink about once per week. I am saving the money from that to add to my donation for my birthday. By my birthday, I will have saved around $200 just from giving up one of my favorite indulgences each week since September when this organization first came to my attention.  Between now and April 29th I will be including the link at the end of each blog where you can donate to charity: water.  I am doing this because I'm going to ask anyone reading this to 1 - watch this video all the way through and 2 - even if you can't donate my birthday, will you donate yours? 

I am starting a fundraising campaign through charity: water for charity: water because this is a cause I feel so incredibly strongly about. Clean drinking water is something we take for granted here. We don't give it a second thought.  Since first learning about charity: water last Fall, it has stayed with me - I can't forget about it. This organization actually uses 100% of ALL donations to bring clean water to areas where it is so desperately needed. Watch the video, it explains what they do and how they take care of their overhead costs separately from the donations made.  I'm not posting this to say, "hey, look at me - I'm doing something great for someone else." I'm sharing this post because I believe that once you watch the videos and check out charity: water for yourself, you will want to give, too.  I want to bring this organization and the wonderful work they do to the attention of as many people as possible. In this world we are met daily with a barrage of hatred and violence via the news, television shows, social media, print media, video games, movies and music.  Even in the way we speak to each other, not respecting differing opinions, pushing our agenda so much that we fight to talk over the "other guy" to be sure our message is heard over theirs.  We've too often forgotten to do simple acts of kindness and treat others with respect and compassion, putting another's needs before our own.  By giving to charity: water and encouraging others to do the same we can turn social media into a tool to help others around the world. We can set the example for the next generation. Will you join with me in this? #charitywater 

To learn more about charity: water, click here

Stressful Ending to a Bumpy Beginning

Four years ago today I finally got the testing that confirmed that I have Celiac Disease.  Of course, I went through all different, warring kinds of emotions with that diagnosis: relief, confusion, anxiety, apprehension, and I was very, very overwhelmed.  After months of doing my own research and learning many things the hard way, several dear friends suggested that I start this blog to help others by sharing my own experiences.

I love writing.  Always have.  And helping people is something else that has always been exceedingly important to me.  I figured that writing a blog would be a piece of cake (gluten free, of course 😉)  Let me tell you that it is more work than one would think.  I had these lofty dreams of writing a new blog post once per week.  Then it became more like once per month.  As life became busier and more stressful I haven't had the time that I've wanted to be able to keep up with this blog.  I have felt like I've let my readers down by not posting as often as I should.  While expressing this to a friend of mine in the Celiac community not long ago, she advised that I be honest with everyone and just write what has been going on recently.  So, this is that post.

No excuses.  I hate excuses and I've used enough of them through different times in my life.  This is not that!  This is just to give you an idea of what my life has been like the past few months.

Like many Celiacs, stress is a major trigger for many of my Celiac symptoms.  No matter how hard I try to keep the stress away and fight the symptoms, they seem to hit anyway.  My blog is something that I write to help others, as already stated.  It is not my job.  I do not get paid for writing my blog.  Monetary gain is not why I write.  Having said that, I do have a full-time job that, of late, has become much more than I ever bargained for.  Not just for me, though.  The company I work for is going through some major changes that we have been working toward for over a year and a half now.  Being in a leadership position in my department has put me also in a leadership position in learning, testing and training for the big changes in store for our company.  This has stretched me in so many ways that I never realized that I could even stretch!  There have been many times, especially in the past few months, when I have felt stretched past the breaking point.  I am grateful for the trust my boss has in me to put these added responsibilities on my shoulders, but there have been moments when I most definitely did NOT feel up to the task.  As are many others who are working on these changes in the company, I have been working a lot of extra hours.  Between the extra hours and stress, I haven't been sleeping well for many months.  You know where I'm going with this, right?  Yep, I've been sick more often recently and many of my other Celiac symptoms have been plaguing me, as well.  My concentration has been off.  It's been difficult to focus.  I've come close to anxiety attacks many times over the past few months, though only ended up in a full-fledged panic attack twice.  Both times at work.  Complete meltdown!  Seriously!  Not proud of it - at all!  Here's where I send a HUGE SHOUT OUT to my co-workers who have been there for me and with me through all of this and even helped bring me down from my anxiety attacks!  Also to my boss, who has believed in me and been patient and supportive in everything I've been doing.  They have all been so understanding and helpful through my health issues, my meltdowns and just all around stepping up and working together to help us all get through this together.  As stressful as everything has been recently, I feel so blessed to work among this amazing bunch of strong, beautiful women.

My G'ma Viola on the left with her 86 year old sister, Aunt Jean on the right.

As 2017 drew to an end, sadly we said goodbye to my dear Aunt Jean, my grandma's "baby" sister.  While not entirely unexpected, it was still a hard way to end the year.  My mom and I were the ones to break the news to my 95 year old grandma, who lives in a nearby nursing home that her beloved little sister and best friend (85 years old) had just passed.  Aunt Jean had Alzheimer's and my grandma has dementia.  We weren't sure if G'ma would retain the information that Aunt Jean had died, so we waited until the night before Jean's funeral.  Mom and I had planned ahead for this.  G'ma is very frail and confined to a wheelchair.  She is a fall risk, so we haven't taken her out of the nursing home since she became confined to the wheelchair.  We've been too afraid of accidentally hurting her in transport.  We KNEW that we had to make sure she made it to her sister's funeral to say goodbye.  The nursing home staff was wonderful and so helpful.  My husband, Dave, took the day off from work, too, and drove us three to and from the funeral and didn't hurry us away when we were visiting with family after the funeral.  My brother and sister-in-law met us there and were absolutely fantastic with G'ma!  They pretty much took over getting her in and out of the car and caring for her needs while we were there.  My sister-in-law has experience with working with the elderly so she knew exactly what to do and how to care for her.  While G'ma was saddened by the loss of her sister, she loved getting to see and visit with so many family members.  I'm so grateful we were able to take her.

The beginning of 2018 has definitely been a bumpy start, as I've dealt with a couple of illnesses.  This weekend I've been dealing with sinus infection and an abscessed tooth.  NOT fun!!  Here is where I have to admit that I have not been faithful about going to the dentist throughout my adult life.  I know better and should have been going regularly, but I haven't.  Today I had no choice.  That awful tooth was causing too much pain and discomfort.  Thankfully, I was able to get in to see a dentist today!  And, though there is a lot of infection and I will have to have a tooth extraction, I was amazed that the news at the dentist wasn't worse!  In fact, the hygienist said that my gums are in pretty good shape for someone who hasn't been to a dentist for as long as me.  She was surprised!  I'll have to get some work done, but nothing that wasn't expected.  I'm running on amoxicillin and ibuprofen for now.  So, while 2018 is off to a bumpy start, I am looking at this as a year of changes for me.  Positive changes.  It's a chance for me to become a healthier version of myself by taking my health into my own hands and doing what I need to in order to become and stay healthy.  That means continuing to heal my gut, get better sleep at night, work at keeping my stress levels manageable.  I'm learning that the best way for me to keep my stress levels manageable is to get plenty of sleep, stay hydrated, eat healthy and keep my prayer life active.  Faith is a HUGE part of who I am.  It is one of the most important things in my life and lately it has taken a back seat to everything else.  Spending time in prayer and reading my Bible, listening to uplifting music at work has all helped bring things back in to perspective and has helped me to re-prioritize my life.

What helps you find your center?  How are you able to cope with the stresses and pressures that come your way?  How do you keep things manageable?

I'm not guaranteeing that I will be better at writing more blog posts, though I do hope to do so.  I promise that I will always be upfront with you and share what I am going through in hopes that I can help in some small way make this Celiac journey we are on together a little brighter just knowing that you're not in this alone.