Never Quit Learning

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Today I took a drive to the Fort Knox area. Gas is 45c a gallon cheaper there, for one thing. Plus, that’s where Saunders Springs Nature Preserve is located. It was a windy day but I enjoyed the walk, knowing that the weather doesn’t look promising for outdoor walking for the rest of the week. Part of the walk was enjoying spring, of course. Then there was contemplation of a new adventure in my life. “Never quit learning,” they say. Now I’m in school again for a new subject that seems to be directly affecting me: celiac disease. I had my first barium milkshake when I was 13, so gastrointestinal issues are absolutely nothing new for me. Things started getting funky last November; in fact, it was my stomach acting up so badly that it was causing heartburn and shortness of breath that sent me to the hospital in December and resulted in the positive COVID test. When there’s nothing obvious showing up it takes a while to figure out what’s wrong. That’s a good thing and a bad thing: good, because there’s nothing serious like a bleeding ulcer or an intestinal blockage; but bad, because trial and error is annoying and painful. But it seems like we’ve narrowed it down to a very few things, which includes celiac disease. Celiac is an autoimmune disorder where gluten, the protein in wheat, causes the body to attack itself. There’s a lot more to that, but this was my first day of school. This isn’t all that good; however, it’s not too bad, either. It’s very easy to treat: just don’t eat wheat. And, like the song says, that’s easier said than done. I have a phone appointment with the dietician on Thursday, and I can report to her how much better I’ve felt in terms of pain (as in, none). That’ll be the halfway point of the original plan of no wheat for two weeks, but I think it’s going to be a lot longer term than that. It is hard to avoid wheat (it’s not just “don’t go to Olive Garden for the pasta and garlic bread lunch”), not only for its inclusion in a lot of products but also because — let’s face it — bread tastes good. I can still taste those delicious homemade biscuits I had at the Old Mill Restaurant when I was in Pigeon Forge earlier this month. Those yummy rolls at Texas Roadhouse! And, as I mentioned, the garlic bread at places like Fazzoli’s and Olive Garden. All gone. That’s one of the things I was thinking about as I walked today. There was a sign on the wall at Weight Watchers when I attended meetings once upon a time that said, “NOTHING tastes as good as being thin feels.” Those “attacks” feel awful, and the pain tends to last for 2-3 days, so the bread doesn’t taste that good. The Essex singing “Easier Said Than Done,” which pretty much explains the road to avoiding wheat: