The Cost of Eating Gluten-Free

3 GF Apples, watercolor & ink, 5x7, copyright Erin Rogers Pickering


I keep reading about the high cost of eating gluten-free. What doesn’t get a mention in any of these articles is the high cost of NOT staying gluten-free.

Does it really cost that much more? All fresh fruit & vegetables, fresh meat & fish are naturally gluten-free. Include in that list milk, eggs, rice, and potatoes - all of these you would or could eat either way.

Where the cost is added is grains, and prepared foods. I agree they do run higher since they are more specialized, as somewhere along the line it was decided wheat should be in everything and be everywhere.

But what about the cost of continuing gluten consumption with celiac disease? Or all the years prior to diagnosis?... The Doctor appointments, the antibiotics, lost time of work, tests, procedures, x-rays, MRIs, prescription meds, co-pays, physical therapy, crutches, acupuncture, pain killers. Painkillers! I can’t even imagine how much I have spent just on Advil in my lifetime.

I have spent a fortune over the years while celiac wreaked it’s havoc, but remained unknown. I shudder to see the actual dollar amount of all that combined.

Treating the problems, related illnesses, chronic pain…. The cost is impossible to calculate. Compared to that the food is a bargain.

A phone call that changes everything

"Yoga Girl Sitting", 5x7, ink & watercolor, copyright Erin Rogers Pickering

Did you ever get one of those phone calls, the call that changes your perspective on life, that shifts everything, the punch to the stomach, the one that yanks the rug right out from under you?

The kind of call that when you see caller ID you hesitate a moment before answering because they never call from work/at work/on your cell/at this time... You know the one. You pick up the phone and sub-consciously hold your breath. But they sound so breezy and matter of fact. The circumstances are anything but, so you ask, "what's up?"

Then you get the news. It's not your news but it's them, so it changes everything. From that moment on everything is different because of who it is. The roar in your head quiets just enough to carry on the conversation. This is real and raw and happening. You want to be supportive, helpful, someone they can lean on. Together you talk, you cry, you hope, you pray, you laugh - you are there for them. And you will continue to be there as they will need you and they move through the maze of the unknown and the unimaginable.

Afterwards you sit drained, shocked, trying to absorb it, your thoughts a disorganized mess. You will get yourself together before you speak next. They will need your love, your support, your thoughtfulness, your strength, your prayers AND your hope.

In the meantime the world has just shifted. Nothing feels the quite the same. And you know now that you will keep up with those seemingly pesky medical tests - the ones we all need to do, the ones that are easy to postpone, the ones that save lives. And, you will continue to make healthy food choices, exercise, take care of yourself so you can feel some sense of control.

You will wake up each morning for the foreseeable future with them as your first thought. And you will be grateful they are part of your life. You will feel gratitude for your family, your friends, and all the little things in your life. For you and your loved one you will focus on hope and healing and light. Hope and healing and love. And you will pray.

We have a Winner!

Thanks to all who participated in our first giveaway.  It was great reading everyone's comments and seeing what people were drawn to (forgive the pun).  We look forward to having more giveaways in the future.

Leslie was the lucky winner and chose a print of the Lion portrait which she will receive along with a copy of Roy's book, Patches of Grey.

Thanks again.

~erin

Finding Motivation

I gather from many of the celiac forum discussions, and articles written, that there is a never-ending stream of people who don't find good health motivation enough to follow a gluten-free diet. Too many focus on what they believe they are missing instead of what they are gaining. They struggle with, or deny, the diagnosis of celiac and consider it a sentence.

Making a drastic lifestyle change like changing the way you eat, shop, socialize, and travel requires motivation. Sometimes it is found within sometimes it comes from an outside source. And, everyone has to find his or her own motivation.

I feel lucky to have multiple motivating sources... 2 come from within: having lived in constant pain and the memory of losing both my mother and grandmother at young ages to stomach cancer.  
The third, and outside source, is my moment to moment reminder in the form of a 3 year old, 39 lb bundle of explosive power who bursts into every day by 6am at full tilt - ready to play, run, jump, draw, paint, bake, read, dance and learn with inexhaustible energy, enthusiasm, and joy!

I need a tremendous pool of energy to keep up with her. I want to live as long and healthy a life as possible to be with her, enjoying every moment to the fullest. I love drawing her as much as she loves seeing the drawings. Two years ago I didn't have the strength or energy to do anything extra. It took everything I had to get through the day. Now, even with my very hectic schedule I find - and use - slices of time to create. It re-charges me and is my special gift to my daughter. And it has made me whole again.

So, from the outside people may only see what I give up or do without to be gluten-free but from where I stand all I can see is what I have gained – and it is infinite!

*My Little Mermaid, work in progress, ink on paper, copyright Erin Rogers Pickering

You can see my more of my work in my Etsy shop Erin Go Paint. Or check out my recent 100 Day Project on Instagram

Art & Literature Giveaway!

First there was bacon and eggs, then peanut butter and jelly, then rhythm and blues, and now at long last, the teaming of Erin (illustrator) and Roy (author) to host an Art & Literature Giveaway. The lucky winner will receive a copy of the novel Patches of Grey by Roy L. Pickering Jr. AND a print of their choice from Erin’s Etsy shop.

Here’s how you play, folks. Go to ErinGoPaint, look through all of the listed items, return to this blog entry and post a comment stating what your favorite piece is. The randomly selected participant will win a copy of the print they chose ALONG WITH a copy of Roy’s book.

Only one comment per person on the blog is allowed, but additional entries can be made on Twitter by cutting & pasting the following tweet: A&L Giveaway - Win Patches of Grey by @authorofpatches & a print of your choice by @gfillustrator at http://tinyurl.com/lwvjbj

Each retweet of this message will be considered as an additional entry.

A minimum of 30 unique comments at the contest blog post is required for a lottery winner to be drawn. This contest runs July 27th through August 16th. Please leave an email address in your comment unless you are sure your link will lead to a web page where contact information can be obtained. Good luck.

~erin & roy

Field of dreams

"French Cottage" acrylic on canvas, private collection, copyright Erin Rogers Pickering 

The movie was on TV the other night, and I watched it for the umpteenth time. It’s in my top 10, possibly top 5. I love the message.... Follow your dream, listen to the voice, stick with what has meaning to you even if others don't understand or think you are a little crazy.

Not only did Ray Kinsella create something magical that drew people to it and that had meaning to many others, but it gave him the opportunity to reconnect with his father whom he had lost years before. I love this movie but I can't watch it without crying.

I was drawn to create this blog (forgive the pun) and it struck me while watching the movie that by documenting my gluten-free journey I feel closer to my mother whom we lost 26 yrs ago. Telling my story has brought about a deep personal journey which sometimes becomes too intense for me. Explains my sporadic writing. Also explains why so many of my own postings make me cry.

I believe in my heart of hearts that my mother had celiac disease, which set the stage for stomach cancer.  This blog is an ongoing dedication to my mom who may have had a different fate had she known about celiac disease when she was young.  And dedicated to my own health & future that I am building one gluten-free day at a time.

I am building it - and SHE has come.

The Little Things

"Right hand drawing left hand, drawn with right hand" ink & pencil, 5x7, copyright Erin Rogers Pickering

I started wearing nail polish in the 7th grade. A woman on our street worked for a cosmetic company and gave me dozens of sample bottles. I loved it - another dimension in painting. And I loved the color sparkling at the tips of my fingers. It was not allowed at school so it was my weekend decoration only.

From High School on I was never without nail polish. I had long strong nails and loved the color accent. Most people who knew me had never seen me without it. It was my signature.

About 7 years ago I started noticing problems with my nails... Splitting, cracking, ridges, white spots, and the top layer appeared to be peeling off.  My dermatologist diagnosed psoriasis (along with patches on my face and arms) and said there was no cure. Oh - and to stop wearing polish. Two weeks layer my husband proposed and everyone I knew was checking out my ring - and my un-manicured hands.

Flash forward... A year after sticking strictly to my gluten-free diet my nails are all the same length, no spots, no ridges, no cracking, peeling or splitting… As strong as they used to be. (and my skin is clear)  I did my nails last night for the first time in years and I feel like that little girl again with color dancing at the tips of my fingers.

Sometimes, it’s the little things…