Wanting to Be Normal

I love chips and guacamole! I love salsa, too. I’m not one to discriminate when it comes to tortilla chips. The hard thing is my body does not like corn. I have a high sensitivity to corn. Gluten is also out for me … so flour chips don’t work either. Ugh.

Once I discovered my issues with corn and changed my diet, I had a flatter stomach and mysterious and random joint pain stopped. My energy improved. I just felt better as a whole. So it’s a no brainer not to eat corn or tortilla chips for me. However, sometimes I just want to be normal.

I see other people indulging in whatever they want. They aren’t scrutinizing the menu or holding back on corn chips or chocolate chip cookies. It doesn’t seem fair. Last month was Cinco de Mayo and I got the urge to celebrate with a margarita and some chips and guac. Normally I’ll eat Siete Chips - they are delicious and corn/gluten-free. This time however they weren’t available. I rationalized - a little bit of corn isn’t going to kill me.

And it didn’t kill me. But it sure messed with me. My belly looks like a basketball. My feet were swollen and my knees were a bit achy. I felt sluggish and gross. As good as the chips were, I can’t really say it was worth it because it took my body several days to get over this mistake.

I went for a sluggish run the next morning - not enjoyable at all and I knew why. But it got me thinking, Is anyone normal? Sure there are plenty of people who can eat whatever they want but their issues are different than mine. I don’t struggle with anxiety or depression. I don’t have migraines or arthritis. I didn’t inherit bad knees or soft teeth. We’d be hard-pressed to find someone who is normal!

I believe sometimes we just need that reminder that there are worse circumstances than ours. Most of us have it pretty good. Not perfect but pretty okay! There are worse fates than not eating corn chips! I’m going to try to remember this next time I am tempted. I am going to try to keep perspective. I hope you will, too!