The Catalyst

That's what Edith is. A catalyst.


(Who, me?)

Yup. Edith has been a catalyst for some major changes around here. Good changes. I know I mentioned in a previous post that Edith's arrival has been great for equalizing the distribution of household chores (the kids attempted a reversion back to their old ways after the move, but we nipped it in the bud), but it's not just that. 


My need to alter my diet to make a nursing Edith happy compelled Rophone to finally make the dietary changes he'd been thinking about to try and combat his Crohn's. We are eating much less meat (once or twice a week, with no beef, pork, or ham), no processed foods, and we're introducing new protein sources, grains (like quinoa) and more fruits and veggies to our diets. Rophone's new favorite thing to eat is celery with hummus, and considering that Rophone used to be solidly a meat and potatoes man... well, it's awesome.


The best part is that it seems to be working! We have a mostly happy Edith and Rophone no longer has the feeling that knives are piercing his gut. Well, less often anyway. Win-win, I'd say. I think we're all feeling better. Big almost immediately quit asking for his old favorites of chicken nuggets, hot dogs and corn dogs, which tells me that he no longer thinks they sound good. And a few times the girls complained that something less than healthy they ate made them feel sick (not that I'm happy my girls felt sick, but I'm kinda happy that my girls felt sick!). 


Breaking all of these old less than helpful and less than healthy habits has done something else for us. Over the years, Rophone and I have kind of suffered from complacency. Fueled by tiredness, Crohn's, or whatever, we have often waited for life to happen to us rather than making our lives happen the way we want. But, no longer. Now we are proactive. We are seizing life by the horns and steering it where we want to go. It feels good. Great, in fact.


We can't wait for what is to come, for what we create (no, not another "catalyst"), eat and accomplish. We're going to be healthier and live in a more fulfilled way all because of Edith. Having her caused us to finally claw our way out of the rut we were living in. She is our catalyst for change. 


(Aw, shucks!)

Thanks a ton, Edith!


(You're welcome.)