Gluten-Free Love Story: Special Mother's Day Edition

I received the following email last week from Pete, who really wanted to let his celiac wife know how much she is loved and appreciated.

Hey Gluten Dude: My wife is better since finding your blog. She has enjoyed keeping up with your posts & agrees with nearly every one of them. I was blessed earlier this year when you posted her love story to me and am extremely interested in reaching out to you to see if you might be able to post a Mother’s Day Letter I have written her. I would be forever grateful to you if you were able to post this somewhere on your blog. She is an awe-inspiring woman and I am so lucky to have her in my life. Keep doing what you are doing Gluten Dude. You are a regular feature in the Krussel household.

Flattery will get you everywhere Pete. It’s all yours.

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To the strongest, most awe-inspiring mom I have had the pleasure of meeting, Rachael Krussel.

Every single day, there are hundreds or thousands of conscious decisions you make, some of which impact you in a lifelong way. Many of those decisions are made without very much forethought or serious consideration. Without knowing it, back in October of 1990, I made one of those thoughtless decisions that has been the single-most important decision of my life.

It was the day in our Freshman year of college I decided to get to know Rachael…as her first impression in class knocked me off my feet. At the time, the decision was spontaneous and one that I had no way of knowing would have such an amazing impact on my life and bring such outstanding wonder and Love.

From that point forward, I have grown closer to Rachael and have personally grown by leaps and bounds. When I think back to all the other decisions I have made with such careful planning and research, where I was confident in my decision, I am amazed at how quickly I decided it would be good to get to know Rachael better.

After a few years of marriage, we made the decision to have children. We have three beautiful children anybody would be proud to parent. As I have watched my children grow, I am stunned on a daily basis by the impact Rachael has had on them. The overwhelming capacity for Love and care she has for our kids is just awe inspiring. hey are such amazing little people because of the influence and wonder Rachael has provided them.

Nearly two years ago, we discovered that our two girls and Rachael all have Celiac Disease. Up until that point, I could not believe what an amazing mom she was. In hindsight, it was not until that point I truly knew how strong a mom she really is.

Rachael immediately immersed herself in the very confusing, misleading, misunderstood, naive, minimally researched, minimally supported or funded, little known disease.

Almost immediately she plowed through books with reckless abandon, web searches for truths and confirmed information, and detail about the disease, its effects, and how best to live gluten-free in a gluten-filled world. Right away she realized that she and our children would have to arm themselves with information and strength as ignorance runs amok in people’s understanding of Celiac.

She realized that she would have to further strengthen our children so our six year old would be able to say ‘no’ four times to four different adults in the span of 10 minutes as they tried to feed her a chicken biscuit for a morning snack at school.

Because of the wonderful mothering she had already provided as a basis for their lives, our children were immediately able to transition into their role as Celiac children… confidently stroll into their lunchrooms…open up their new Udi’s bread sandwich…and proudly and confidently eat their lunch on their special place mats in the middle of a gluten war zone.

When inquisitive eyes and questions loiter, our girls are strong in their conviction and carry on. When other children and adults ask questions, they confidently answer and attempt to put to rest the natural, “I-know-better-than-you” looks and statements they receive far too often.

Very early, Rachael was empowering our children to make thoughtful and smart decisions for themselves. To be independent in their thinking and actions, while ensuring they are aware of the impact of their decisions. There is no “helicopter” in Rachael. Instead, our children are filled with confidence in approaching new situations, “taking a school bus to school for the first time in their lives just days after moving half way across the country,” type of confidence.

I am proud to boast that Rachael is my wife and the mother to our children and I hope like crazy more people get to experience what I experience on a daily basis…what an amazing thing it is to witness the perfect mom.