It was the perfect temperature to drive home from physical therapy with the windows down in my car. I don't do it often, because the wind noise usually irritates me, but it was worth it today. Along the way, I passed several different restaurants, most of negligible quality, and the car was filled with the smell of crappy hamburgers, crappy chicken, and powerful roasted garlic (which smelled good, but it was an Italian restaurant, and pasta is right out). It set me thinking about all the things that have changed, the farther into a gluten free lifestyle I go. My sense of smell has been weakening for years, to the extent that I couldn't smell a live Christmas tree in my house for the last decade. Now that I'm starting to pick up things I haven't in ages, like these food smells, or the freshly purchased lumber sitting in my garage, I'm starting to wonder how many other senses have been dulled from a bad diet. I'm definitely tasting food better, but to be fair, I am also tasting better food. I've always had a strong aversion to excessive seasoning on processed food, including restaurant fare. I always told my children that my favorite flavor was "plain." This is not to imply I like bland food. I just always wanted to eat the actual item, not an "amped up" version of anything. I suspect that laboratory-created flavor blends, in increasing intensity, are meant to cover up the horrible quality of the base components in what we as a nation are buying and eating. Factory food is a nightmare, and only these chemicals and "natural flavorings" can trick our brains into accepting it. I've turned my back on all of those processed foods, and I am finding that I no longer feel queasy after eating. I feel nourished every time I eat, for the first time in memory. I'm alert, I have energy, and I have a good attitude. It's remarkable, really.
I think my brain is starting to function better now that I'm completely on the gluten free wagon. I am starting to hear music differently, able to follow the complexities in ways that previously only signaled an impending migraine headache. (I used to worry when I could pick out the different instruments and musical lines, all at once, because that meant I had at best a couple hours before I was down for the count.) I'm starting to see an improvement in my conversational skills. I had started feeling like a crazy recluse over the years, as I backed off from in-person social events, to hide how difficult it was for me to hold a train of thought in spoken conversations. I'm not 100% yet, but I'm not as easily distracted. Any improvement is welcome, in that respect. And the suggestion of sensory inputs are setting me off. I have found myself watching things on tv, like coffee brewing, wood fire, mowed grass, and I swear I can taste it, smell it, feel it. My creativity and imagination are improving, obviously.
I wonder how long this will all feel fresh and new. I must get used to it at some point, and stop being startled when my senses are triggered. I hope that time is far away. I'm enjoying feeling like I'm smelling and tasting and hearing everything for the first time.
(I have no photos that match this topic, so I will share the handful I took today when I came home from physical therapy. I had a yard full of visitors.)
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