Today we celebrate Mother’s Day with four generations together. I was lucky to have my great-grandmother until I was in my mid-20s. She was a strong influence in my life and I named my daughter after her. Today, I’m so happy that my daughter has the opportunity to know her great-grandmother since many children today don’t get to even know their grandparents.
Mother’s Day is also bittersweet to me because our first son, David, was due on Mother’s Day. He would have been ten this year. I well remember the pain of having to sit through Mother’s Day services while dealing with infertility. People always felt the need to ask when I’d become a mother, not knowing that we had been told by doctors I’d never have kids.
Real Food proved those doctors wrong. We finally experienced the hope and joy of being pregnant, then the devastation of loosing a child. Facing his due date was so difficult. By the time Mother’s Day rolled around, I was carrying my daughter. In some ways being pregnant again helped, but it didn’t stop the pain of loosing a child and trying to get through the due date.
I just wanted to hide, try to cope and get through it. My husband took me to Disney World so I could loose myself in a crowd and have some distraction to get through it. I know, Disney, right? It seemed counter-intuitive to go to a family-oriented theme park with a ton of babies and little kids everywhere, but it really did help to just be a face in a crowd.
Loosing a baby or a loved one around a holiday is so hard. Both of my sister-in-laws were due around the same time and one gave birth while we were at Disney. I still remember that moment when Jeff’s cell phone rang and we heard the news. We were at Epcot. Even today I think of David when I see them, knowing he’d be at the same age and stage.
So to the mothers who read my blog, I salute you. To those struggling with infertility and heart ache or pregnancy loss, while you struggle to keep back tears and keep a public smile on your face despite the pain, on this Mother’s Day you have my prayers and my love.
[boilerplate sig]
I'm 
Thank you for sharing this. We have lost 3, and there are not going to be any coming. (For those of you tempted to talk about adoption or foster children – don’t; i wish it were possible, but it is not.) Watching the ones about the ages ours would be is hard. MD & FD are very hard for us both. We opt out.
Thank you for sharing. I’m glad you’ve been blessed.
Kathryn recently posted..Life Continues On
KerryAnn,
Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and wisdom with all of us even at the risk of “taking flak” from the traditional foods community. I’m learning so much and am hopeful that I now have answers for why my gut has yet to heal after nearly 2 years on the GAPS diet.
I’ve been purchasing my sauerkraut from a local Amish farm and am wondering now about how they prepare it. I’m going to ask when I make my next pick up. Do you happen to know about any of the commercial varities like Bubbies or Cultures for Health and which method they use?
I did order several Pickl-its and have started some ferments, but I have to admit I’m super nervous about doing my own and messing them up! I also would like to know of a good back-up, especially since I just started my first batch of kraut and now need to wait several weeks for it to finish. I’m hoping to do start a large batch every week or so from here on out so I have plenty, but until then I need a plan.
Also, am I understanding correctly that I must continue to store the kraut in the Pickl-it in the fridge even after leaving it on the counter for 8+ weeks?
Thanks so much KerryAnn!
I don’t know how Cultures for Health produces theirs. For Bubbies, their jar is not airtight, so once you open it you face the problems with oxidation and killing LABs as you do with the home ferments. I’ve had more than one person write recently and ask about their Bubbies turning colors from oxidation. I’ll be covering that issue next week.
The kraut should stay on the counter until it stops bubbling, about 7-10 days. Then transfer to the fridge for the remainder of the fermentation time, 10-12 weeks in total. That allows it to go through all four stages of fermentation.