Celebrating the Differences

I believe that most people are extreme in some way.  Something they are passionate about, whether that is music, movies, golf (my dad), politics (my mom), food, exercise, or travel.  We all have those experiences in life that take hold of us and change us and that is what then makes us different from "everyone else". 

My sister wrote an article for Babble yesterday about introverts and extroverts and it got me thinking.  Most of us are both in some way.  I know people see me as 100% extrovert, but in my extrovertedness I am really prone to saying awkward things.  For example, yesterday we went to our family cabin to open it up for the summer.  When I got home some neighbors who I view as those moms who have it all together and probably teach their kids music lessons every day and have perfect dinners every night were out chatting.  I have known these women for years, but I still walked over and started, well, BABBLING about the cabin.  I do this frequently because as an extrovert I feel like I need to fill the silence or it is awkward.  Instead I just fill the silence awkwardly.

Because of this, I tend to gravitate towards people who have their extremes like me.  I've gotten a bit extreme about health over the past...well, forever, and tend to relate well to other people who have issues pertaining to health as well.  My friend, Barbara, for example.  She's allergic to everything and literally has had to deal with avoiding family gatherings in case someone inadvertently tries to kill her with peanuts or soy.  In the past few months I have had friends diagnosed with celiac, diabetes, cancer of various kinds, heart disease, and two friends at the same time had 9 year old kids diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes where a few weeks before at their well-child visits they were fine.  

In my family we have dealt with allergies and food issues since my son was born.  For the first two years of his life we had to puree everything he ate because of texture.  Then he was diagnosed with an egg allergy and eczema that covered his body with open sores.  My husband has Hashimoto's Disease and has to be on thyroid meds and in spite of eating plant-based and exercising he hasn't been able to lose weight.  I have CVI and most of the time my legs literally feel like I am being stabbed with needles if I don't stick to alkaline foods and make sure I am exercising.  When you are hit with so many different things, you tend to get a little extreme and desperate about the health of your family, and that means realizing that you are different from the mainstream.  I'm trying to just celebrate the differences, knowing that there are people out there that I can help because of my own experiences.