Living The Dream

I'm beginning to get the boldness (and stable footing as a mom) to trek towards the life I dream about. I'm excited. I'm also careful. And very, very purposeful.

As Dia nears closer to the one and half year old mark (ok, that's still over two months away, but hey!), and my overly dramatic self chimes in that that means there's technically only sixteen and a half years left, I get motivated to do NOW what I want to look back on then.

It's meant changing my priorities. It's even meant changing my friends. It's meant altering my time. And slowly, yet ever so intently, loosening my control until I can find the joy in any (and every? I hope) moment.

It's not a New Year's resolution. As a family, though, we've labeled 2011 the year of "Face It." As in face reality, face the truth. When the discussion ran across my hub's health, we fist-pounded (oh to live with a boy...) and said in unison, "Gotta Face It. 2011, baby!" When it came time to evaluate how Dia spends her days, yep, we faced it. We're being bluntly honest with ourselves only in the most encouraging of ways, knowing that from the truth springs freedom and health.

Which brings us to the re-introduction of the raw foods lifestyle. Yep. We're baaaaack! The raw foods lifestyle is not necessarily for everyone, though the health benefits (when done correctly, of course) are hard to deny. As former raw fooders, we found ourselves often exulting the high energy, stellar health and overall better quality of life that we experienced as raw fooders. The question inevitably came up, "So why don't you eat raw now?"

"Uh...well, we....um, can I get you something else to drink?" Total brainlessness. Why don't we eat raw now?

You guessed it. Time to Face It. (You can imagine the pounding of fists, I'm sure.)

So as of last Monday, Rory and I are back on the wagon again. The last few days were a little rough (going from a relatively healthy eating habit to strictly raw fruits, vegetables, nuts and oils can really do a number on your digestion, mood and energy). We mutually agreed that neither of us could really expect anything from the other while we went through our detox--some nights we were in bed by 8pm, some days we fought headache, only today did we clean house and finally have enough energy for some outdoor fun.

But we both admit, we're feeling pretty good!

We have put in place a few stipulations (if you are a strict raw fooder, you will soon find heretical type, so be forewarned):

1. We will eat fish (cooked) once weekly.
2. We will eat red meat (cooked) once weekly.
3. Dia will eat whatever she wants. That is to say, we aren't altering her diet or "veganizing" her in any way. She still eats chicken, rice, rice pasta, goat's milk yogurt, etc. (She's still overcoming her food allergies/sensitivities so we already avoid wheat, corn and other foods.)
4. As a nursing mom, I'll be trying to eat an avocado, coconut (water and meat) and drinking a cup of Mother's Milk tea a day.
5. I'll continue (but with more motivation) to get a regular B-12 injection for an extra boost for both my health and Dia's.

So a couple of clarifications: I'm obviously not vegan out of concern for animal welfare. It would seem to me that a tree is just as alive as any animal and I do believe that God created plants and later meat for our food. I do believe that meat contains necessary nutrients, however, I believe it should be consumed in very small quantities (i.e., once a week). I also talked with my and Dia's doctor (a naturopath) about this and got her full approval, though, I'm sure at first she had a litany of protests on her tongue (my stipulations and careful forethought, I think, convinced her I wasn't a total joke).

And so far, I think I'm actually getting better nutrients and even better quality calories than before as an organic, gluten-free, sugar-free omnivore. For example, many a day did I decide on a rice four tortilla with goat's milk cheddar cheese as a valid lunch, whereas today I had an apple with peanut butter (not technically raw, but we were out of almonds) and a plethora of carrots, celery, tomato and avocado with a cashew-based (high protein) dill dipping sauce. (I also graze a lot more on this diet and basically finished my breakfast up until it was time to make lunch.)

And while this raw foods re-conversion and the year of Facing It are important, this post is really about finding the boldness to live the life I want--for both my and me. Not only is there no excuse, but there's really no reason not to!

Dia and I have had some pretty stellar days just at home the two of us. I mean stellar, stellar. As in wowsa. Super uber wow--ok, you get the point. I don't have any awesome pics of amazing field trips or really even many social activities at all. I've been letting me be Dia's friend. I've been allowing me in the events of daily life to be her model. I've been finding the joy in reading the same book four times (or more), riding our bikes (so need to post about Christmas!!!), making stuff together and letting the big event be grocery shopping--I'm one of those moms that doesn't like shopping WITHOUT Dia. I guess you could say I've been simplifying. And I just love it. And by intentionally simplifying, I'm eliminating the stress that stole the joy from the simple in the first place. Does that make sense?

Basically I'm finding the freedom and courage to make our days just I want them to be. No pre-set schedule, no outside obligations. Just Ror, D and me. I can't believe I didn't do this sooner!