Going to Work

The sun is coming up in the east, brightening the morning nicely. It is still wet outside from all the rain we got last night, but I am hopeful that the sun will bring warmth which will dry the patio enough for me to sit outside sometime later today.

The winter here in Michigan was brutal this year. Record snowfall, record low temperatures, and winter hanging on well into spring made it hard to believe there was ever going to be an end in sight. Even now there are patches of snow hidden beneath bushes and piles from snow plows still hanging on giving me reason to believe that winter is still not truly over.

Being stuck in the house for so many months, has taken it’s toll on my mood and most definitely my perspective.

“You can’t get anywhere unless you start.”

I did not want to get out of bed this morning. It wasn’t for lack of sleep, it’s just that I didn’t want to go to work today especially because “going to work” only meant rolling out of bed. The minute my feet hit the ground, I’m working. Every other person in this house can get up and enjoy a period of leisure, up until they have to leave the house to “go to work” or “go to school” or “go to anywhere but here.” Me? Well I’m here and here and here. Oh yeah, I do go to the grocery store, the produce market, and the big box stores when required, but that is just an extension of my job here at home.

Don’t get me wrong, I love my job. I wouldn’t trade it for one of those highfalutin corporate office jobs with a grumpy boss and gossiping co-workers. The only perk I can see with that type of job is that when you leave the office, work is done. For me, the work is from sun-up to sun-down.

Conversely —

“Eighty percent of success is just showing up.”

That being said, I’m already a success this morning. Everyone else in this house has to work a whole lot harder to get to the point of success I’ve reached just by getting out of bed.

See how perspective can turn things around. Is the glass half-empty or half-full? Depending on my mood, I can go either way, but when I can rub the sleep from my eyes and take the blinders off, I remember that I have the best job in the world.

No job is perfect. Scrubbing toilets, washing windows (or streaking them in my case), pulling weeds, and scouring pans might not be all that glamorous, but making the lives of the people I work for (my family) richer, is where my heart is. Some mornings, I just need to remind myself of this so I can be — Simply Grateful.

Raw Milk Testimonial

Happy Day!  Every other week for the past eight weeks I have picked up 4 gallons of raw milk from High Hill Dairy through a local co-op.  This has been one of the best decisions we have ever made.

I am not sure what the law is in other states, but in Michigan it is illegal, yes illegal, to buy/sell raw milk.  Fortunately, by joining a co-op which basically means we are leasing a cow, we are able to get raw milk without breaking any laws.  For me this has been a godsend.

Ever since my daughter was born over 17 years ago, I have suffered from migraines.  A combination of stress, hormones, and TMJ has meant seven to ten migraines a month.  I have tried every home remedy I could find on the internet or heard about from friends, to no avail.  The only remedy that had any affect was caffeine but this was sporadic at best.  In order to even take the edge off these headaches, I was forced to take 1000 mg of Tylenol.  This didn’t take the migraine away, it only made it tolerable enough to not have to close myself up in my room with my head buried under a pillow for 10 or so hours.

After learning about the medicinal benefits of raw milk from several websites on the internet, we decided to give it a try.  We joined a local co-op and a week later were driving to a parking lot to pick up four gallons of raw milk.

It was a little strange picking up milk in a parking lot off the back of a truck.  To be honest, thoughts of cops closing in and arresting us with their guns drawn did cross my mind.  After all, what type of activity typically takes place in a parking lot, off the back of a truck?  Silly I know.  Guess I’ve been watching far too many cop shows on television.

Anyway, my husband couldn’t drive fast enough to get us home so I could try the raw milk.  I had no idea if the taste was going to be different or what the texture was going to be like.  I was pleasantly surprised when I poured myself that first glass, after shaking the jug, and sipped the smooth, creamy liquid.  It was sweeter than store-bought “milk” and thicker.  The obvious differences were the film it left on the glass and the cream line in the jug before I shook it.  It was wonderful and filling.  Did you know that you could live off of raw milk?  That’s what I’ve heard and based on how filling just a small glass is, I tend to believe it.

For two weeks I religiously drank 8 oz. in the morning and 8 oz. in the evening.  No migraines.  This was encouraging but I still was not sure that the milk was doing anything.  I don’t get migraines every day or keep track of exactly when they happen, so I couldn’t tell if the milk was working or not.  The one true test would be when I felt a migraine coming on and see if drinking the milk would do anything.  Finally, after picking up our second order of milk, another four gallons, two weeks later, I had my first opportunity to test the claims.

One afternoon after finishing a long list of errands, the vision in my right eye became completely obscured and I started getting light-headed.  These are the first tell-tale signs for me that a migraine is imminent.  The minute I got home, before bringing in any groceries, I poured myself a glass of milk and drank it.  Within twenty minutes the vision in my eye was almost completely restored and I wasn’t light-headed anymore.  This could either mean that the milk was working or the migraine was evolving.

The progression of a migraine for me goes from blurred vision and dizziness to feeling completely normal.  Then, anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour later the migraine hits.  My eyes throb, my head aches, I get nauseous, and I can barely stand from the pain.

So, I waited.  Ten minutes passed.  Nothing.  A half hour passed.  Nothing.  At an hour, I felt great and had forgotten completely about my symptoms.  In fact, not until two hours later did my husband ask me how I felt.  I felt great.  No migraine.

For two months I have been drinking the raw milk and whenever I’ve felt the beginnings of a migraine, which has only been a couple of times (that too is an improvement), I’d drink an extra glass of milk and within twenty minutes all symptoms were gone.  Knock on wood!  I’m not really superstitious, but at the same time I’m not willing to risk it.

Additionally, my daughter, who was told she was “lactose intolerant” based on the stomach aches she suffered whenever drinking milk or eating dairy products, has been able to drink the raw milk with absolutely no side effects. In my opinion it isn’t the lactose that she is intolerant of, it is the homogenization/pasteurization.  The white water that they sell as milk in the stores isn’t really milk at all.

What a shame the government feels compelled to restrict the sale of something that has real health benefits and subsidize the production and sale of something that in my opinion is causing great harm.  We pay $9.00 a gallon for the raw milk.  Witnessing the benefits first hand that this milk has been responsible for makes this amount inconsequential.  To coin a phrase, “Priceless!”

How can I be anything but — Simply Grateful.