Mothers, food allergies, and beautiful music

I had food allergies as a child. Many, many allergies (though, as it turns out, not as many as my sister). Two children with different food allergies made it hard for my mother, so, with few exceptions, what one child couldn't eat, the other child didn't either. I know that Lisa couldn't eat wheat when we were young, and to this day, I don't know if I was allergic as well, or just brought along for the ride, but as kids, my sister and I ate more strange grains than I can count. Quinoa (keen-wah) was one of those grains, and though I'm not really sure if my mother ever made a cake out of quinoa flour, my family grew up joking about our quinoa birthday cakes. I do know that we had some cakes made out of wacky ingredients, thanks to cassette tape audio recordings of all the birthday dinners at my home.

One of the things that I was allergic to was milk. Regular (cow's) milk. I remember trying to eat cereal plain - gross. I even once poured orange juice over it - bad idea, but my mother made me eat it anyway because we didn't waste food (and let's be honest, she did warn me about how icky it would be before I did it...). Well, since I could not have milk, and soy milk wasn't everywhere in stores like it is now, we got goat milk from a local farm for me to drink. I don't remember too much about the goat milk in particular, except that I did drink it, so it couldn't have tasted that bad, but all I wanted was some of Lisa's "cow's milk". Of course it was called cow's milk, because my milk was just "milk". Being jealous of Lisa's "cow's milk" was one of the most clear memories of my childhood.

I don't have any food allergies anymore - my mother, bless her, got involved in Applied Kinesiology, and we did lots of muscle testing, and we cured the allergies. Now, some people say Applied Kinesiology is bunk, and some say it's a wonder cure. I don't really care what other people say - it worked for me, and I can drink milk now, so there you go.

I'll leave you with a picture of my mother and me in London in 2007. After my term in Dublin, we traveled all around England and Scotland. Here we are in Trafalger Square, on what I remember was a really really hot day.

And for the beautiful music, I'm currently listening to the Glacial Erratics, four women who have an incredible gift of music. Here's what they have to say about the "Wide Blue World", on their Tides of Change CD.

Go tell my mama

Tell my papa too

Go tell the neighbor boy, and the friends I knew in school

I'm leaving Dixon

Cross that south coast county line

I'm off to see the wide blue world

The wide blue world, the wide blue world

Such a big open space for a restless little girl

I don't know if, or when, I'll be coming back again

From the wide blue world, the wide blue world.

Now I got my guitar, I got my trusty mandolin

I got a shawl around my shoulders and a picture of my kin

I've got my change of clothes, and my sturdy walking shoes

A little money in my pocket for the wide blue world...

Love, Bethy