So, I didn’t write the really funny part. That’s the fact I was studying herbs while my husband, Mike, was in medical school.
He already knew I was a little nuts, but I think I was pushing him a little too far. He was supportive, don’t get me wrong, but when we discussed possible scenarios of illness, especially regarding our kids, we began to have differing opinions.
And it didn’t help that some of my study course videos featured a guy with obvious hatred of doctors and conventional
medicine. Talk about inflammatory! It didn’t take me too long to realize, that if I wanted good relations with my husband, I shouldn’t watch those videos with him around.
I was very excited about some of the things I was learning, and got a little too eager in sharing my opinions. I wanted to have the most perfect diet possible, at the time. It was great to have all my tastes changing, learning to love healthy foods I had never eaten before.
I’m embarrassed to admit it, but I had hardly eaten salads or fresh vegetables my whole previous life. A new world was opening before me. I was eating sprouts, nuts and seeds, cooking with spices I had never used before, trying delicious whole grains, like millet, amaranth, oat groats, buckwheat (which technically isn’t a grain, it’s a legume or something).
I even went off all bread and sugar (for the most part) for about a year and a half, trying to get rid of yeast overgrowth. I felt great! I wanted to tell everyone!
The pendulum swung way out for a while. I didn’t want my kids to eat any white sugar, or other foods I believed to be unhealthy. Over time I realized that I wasn’t happy being so controlling, and that relationships were more important. Mike and I stopped disagreeing on so many things, especially after the first year and a half or so.
Deciding to stop pushing so much and keeping my mouth shut on some topics helped tremendously. I voted for a residency program in Arizona, where I knew Andrew Weil was promoting many ideas along natural medicine lines. Mike happily conceded and there finished a program in emergency medicine.
Mike and I are at a good place now. He’s seen many natural treatments and remedies work well in our home, and I’ve seen many situations that made me grateful for conventional medicine. We understand better the weaknesses and strengths of each system.
I support him in his work and professional (& humanitarian) activities, and he encourages and helps me in mine.
What a sweetie!!!
