September

These last couple of weeks have been eventful with summer ending and school beginning, a transition that was more poignant this year because my youngest started Kindergarten. Late August and September are actually host to my favorite time of year, when Fall starts to beckon softly at night and linger in the morning breeze. But there is a melancholy to it, that either suits one or it doesn’t, and I can understand why some people prefer Spring. For me that melancholy hits me low in the stomach, colored with hope, nostalgia, longing, appreciation, and a need for beauty…and I like it. It fuels me, somehow. Unfortunately I could use a dose of direction too, but the autumn winds don’t seem to carry that in her basket this year. She’s a bohemian at heart, at least in my mind’s eye, wearing bright colors with a haphazardness that accompanies her C’est la vie attitude. The leaves fall where they may, skirts flutter, sweaters shrug on and off as the sun plays off-handedly. With both my sons in school now I suddenly find myself alone for hours per day for the first time in over seven years, and I seem to be flapping my wings and getting no where. It’s only the third day, but really, I’ve gotten remarkably little done in those three days and it bothers me. This morning I ran into a good friend at the school drop off and we went to the Flying Apron for coffee and gluten free goodies, which was a treat indeed. They were playing really good music, the art has been changed since last week and I liked it, and the espresso was just what I needed. Another good friend told me about a new place in Redmond that is allergy-free and looks awesome~ we’ll be trying it soon with more information to follow. It makes me grateful, once again, to live somewhere with so many options for gluten free living, especially since last week I must have eaten some wheat accidentally because I felt sick for days. The reactions are definitely getting more severe which is not what I expected at all. Shouldn’t my intestines be getting healthier? What is the deal? Maybe I’ll use some of my new alone hours to find a Gastroenterologist who has more to tell me than, “you are too dark to be a celiac. They are fair. You look more like you are lactose intolerant.” Seriously, that was all I got from him. Then he read my palm. No, just joking about that part but that is how it felt! He did say that many people have problems with gluten, not just celiacs, but I guess I want someone to tell me for sure if I have a genetic issue or not, and not just jump to a conclusion by my skin/hair/eye color. I would like to know if my children are susceptible or not, after all. Don’t they have x-ray vision goggles yet in doctor offices? Someone should invent that.