A few weeks ago I started writing again and wrote a intro to the idea of becoming your own advocate. Well – I got a bit side-tracked with a few additional posts but I want to get back to this “idea” of self advocacy.
Without realizing it, nearly 12 years ago we started this journey when Dan picked up a book called Diet for a Poisoned Planet at our local Library. He was intrigued because of a class called, Race, Class and Politics of Nature that he had taken at the U of M not long before graduating. (I also then took the class because he spoke so highly of it)
We were both affected by what we learned especially about farming practices, the effect of pesticides on the planet as well as the farmers who are working with them. After hearing specifically about the pay inequality, generational health issues and poor conditions of banana farmers working on conventional farms we started buying organic bananas, and didn’t look back…
“Conventional bananas are sprayed with synthetic fertilizers, insecticides, and herbicides. Yes, this is just as bad as it sounds—but not just for you. The workers on many conventional plantations are often exposed to these toxins. This leads to a host of health conditions including skin diseases and kidney failure. A lawsuit was filed just last year against Dole Food Co., and Dow Chemical Co. by more than 1,000 Latin American banana plantation workers for injuries linked to pesticide exposure.” –Made In Nature
We started eating healthier – eliminating white grains, hydrogenated oils and food dyes.
And eventually we started to mind what else we were putting on our bodies too. We bought Tide Free and Clear and started buying only “clean” home cleaning supplies and hair products. Dan never liked scented things (biiiiig former B&BW fan over here) so when he declared a household ban on candles and plugins, I was a bit bummed… but that is when a better option came into our lives with oils and plant-based products.
Joining a movement of people who were like-minded about ditching the chemicals from their lives was very invigorating for us. For years I felt like we were the weird ones that ate organic and used “clean” products and I felt like I found “my people” in this area of my life! (Also – a lot of them are entrepreneurs too, so, double awesome!)
It was during this season where I really started to question how all my previous choices were affecting my fertility. From 18 to about 27 my cycles were horrible, heavy, painful and unpredictable.
But as we drove further down the road of pursuing wellness and a low-toxin lifestyle – guess what else started to slowly improve??
Yup. You guessed it – Aunt Flo started behaving better – bit by bit…
If you read my post from a few weeks ago, you’re familiar with our journey with infertility and adoption.
Through the many years we’ve faced (10+) of not getting pregnant we’ve done nearly all the tests, seen many doctors and we have always – ALWAYS been told the same results.
“You’re in great health!”
Don’t get me wrong – that is GREAT news to receive. But also very frustrating news when you’re on month 3 or year 5 or one decade of wanting to be parents and you can’t figure out why.
Then came last summer. We were rounding out the 3rd year in a row (post-adoption process) of taking life year by year. We knew we were ready to start winding down the chapters on our full time photography gig (goodness knows we’ll never fully leave it, just ready for something else to be our main source of income) and so each year we were just focusing on 2 things…
Our marriage
Our business
See that couple there? They are on their first real vacation since their honeymoon – and this was on their 8th anniversary. That was the trip that they decided to not renew their adoption paperwork, and take the time to hunker down and focus on marriage and business.
Self Advocacy comes in many forms… it can be your physical, spiritual, emotional, marriage, family, friend, boundary, you-name-it – health.
Those three years we focused on those two areas because they were the most lacking, the most neglected and also two of the most important areas as they were the most unhealthy.
The 8th anniversary trip was a game changer. We finally got a glimpse of actual relaxation, time away, not working and real legitimate conversation.
It also started us on our conscious road of Self Advocacy.
And since this post is already so long… let’s pause and make a Part 2.
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