I used to be a normal person. I ate what the media told me to, I worked like society told me to, I got the health care the government told me to, I sent my kids to school like the government told me to. I lived like the government and mass media told me to. I was very unhappy.
I wanted nothing more than to be home with my beautiful children. I had wanted children since I was a teenager. I knew all my life that my role in this world was to be a mother and raise strong, happy, healthy children who could make a difference in this world. I yearned for an agrarian lifestyle, to be independent and be able to rely on myself for my own needs. I wanted a small farm, surrounded by unadulterated wilderness. It's not that I am antisocial. Far from it. I crave socialization and cherish my friends and seek to get out into public frequently. But I grew up close to the land, and I wanted my children to have that closeness as well. The longer I lived the lifestyle I saw all around me, the more unhappy I grew. I would spend hours daydreaming about living on my farm - drinking milk from my own cow and goats, eating meat from animals I raised myself in a humane manner, collecting eggs from chickens that ran around my yard all day, and stocking my pantry with vegetables I grew myself.
I wanted to work from home, and I fell victim to several MLM schemes. But something I learned during that time has stuck with me ever since, and I suppose you could say that it started me down this path I walk today. I was being recruited into Melaleuca's ranks (having failed at Amway), and the lady who was talking to me told me that cancer affects one in every three people today. One hundred years ago, that number was one in 800. Why? She told me it was because of toxic chemicals used for house cleaning. Over the years I have seen reports saying that indoor air pollution is far worse than outdoor air pollution, and it is blamed on toxic cleaners. Although I also failed at Melaleuca, I decided then to keep only non-toxic cleaners in my house. I spent a lot of time at Care2.com and got some hosueplants to help detoxify our air. I may not be able to do much about outside my home, but by golly, I will not poison my children inside my home. I began using vinegar and baking soda as my primary cleaners, and placed new value on elbow grease.
When I was pregnant with my fourth child, my husband and I agreed that it was time for me to stay home with the kids. I had spent a couple weeks in between temporary assignments, and our lives were the better for it. The lost income was a small price to pay for the happiness of my family. And the lost income was really negligible. My last assignment was two days and after my taxes and other obligations, my paycheck was $15 less than the daycare cost, so really we weren't losing anything. It has been tough financially, but I believe we are a stronger family for it.
A few months later, I saw a post about eating real food, and there was a link at the bottom to www.westonaprice.org. I read it as West on a Price, and thought that maybe it was about the food of the pioneers. What I found was so much better, and it kicked me into starting to do what I could while living a mainstream lifestyle to make my dream come true. I might not be able to raise my kids on a farm, but that didn't mean that I couldn't bring the goodness of the farm to my kids. I read lots of websites, I joined mailing lists, I tried it at home. It felt good. My kids thought I was cuckoo. I evicted the white flour and sugar from my pantry, and began soaking my flours before baking. I stopped baking cookies and muffins every week (I mistakenly thought that if I could buy it at the grocery store and pronounce its name, it couldn't be that bad for me). I read that rats can live longer on cardboard boxes than on corn flakes, and the ones on corn flakes went insane before they died (Reference), so I kicked out the boxed cereals, too.
After changing my family's diet, I began to think about my cat and dog. I read about lots of different dietary beliefs, and after much research and thought, I realized that the only one that truly made sense was a prey-model raw food diet. I have listed some websites about that on my Links page.
Food is inextricably linked with health, as anyone can attest. What everyone disagrees on is how. Once again, I went in search of my own answers. I was already dealing with lead poisoning in my children from the ancient house I lived in, so I desperately wanted answers. I met a woman online who has a son with autism, and from her I first heard that maybe vaccines aren't as spiffy as we are told. I have always tried to have a healthy dose of skepticism, but I am also trusting to a fault. I began my investigation into the saftey and efficacy of vaccines when my youngest was 9 months old, and I had a 2.5-year-old in therapy for a speech delay. My 5-year-old was just starting kindergarten, and beginning to exhibit some less-than-desirable behaviors that she brought home from school. A good place to start for your own research is www.vaccinetruth.org. Dr. Mercola also has an extensive library of articles regarding health and food.
Last year, my third child turned three and officially became too old for the therapy she was receiving. She was referred to the local school district to receive further assistance under their special education program. I did not want her to be coded as I learned from the experiences of friends and family that getting coded haunts you for life. I was assured that she would not be coded if I did not want that. I went to the school to sign the paperwork for her continued therapy and to discuss the strategy for it. While I was there, they told me I had to code her, there was no choice. They also told me that thye would send her to a day care a couple of times a week so that she could have good language models. I was highly insulted. My husband and I speak very clearly and have a more extensive vocabulary than most people I know. She also has two older sisters who are no slouches when it comes to speech, either. After much argument, I ended up removing all my children from the school district to teach them at home. I am still searching for the best approach for us, but I am leaning very strongly towards the Waldorf philosphy.
So that is how I changed from a normal, mainstream "soccer-mom wanna-be" into a tree-hugging dirt worshipper. We are still trying to formulate a plan to get back to the land and onto the farm of my dreams, but until then, we are finally raising strong, healthy, happy children. Please check out my links page to turn your world on its ear.
Here is a page of our homeschooling pictures.
I have also acquired a collection of freeware. I wasn't quite sure where on my site to put it, so I am putting it here.
