In Praise of What You Can Do
Most people who know my wife, Diane, find her to be rather amazing. And, no, I’m not just saying that because I’m her husband. People tell me on a regular basis without any prompting from me that they find her amazing. This has gone on for years, but the latest reason why is Diane and her blog on cooking gluten and dairy free. She started the blog a couple of years ago when she learned from her doctor that food intolerances were the source of a host of health hassles that she had experienced for years. I remember when she came home from the doctor’s office with a blood test report that listed all of the foods she was intolerant to. It was basically everything she loved the most including chocolate. Diane had a meltdown for about 20 minutes and then got a notebook out and started writing down all the foods she could eat. It was a pretty long list and was more or less the genesis of the blog that has gone from zero to 16,000 monthly page views in two years.
I was reminded of Diane (pretty easy to since I live with her), earlier this week when I read an article in the Dining section of the New York Times on Roger Ebert. If you’re one of the more mature (aka older) readers of this blog, you likely remember him as the second half of the Siskel and Ebert at the Movies show that used to run on TV. These days, he’s writing a very successful blog and is releasing a cookbook on recipes for the rice cooker called The Pot and How to Use It
He can’t eat. He can’t talk. He can cook. He can write. He just published a cookbook. He shares his thoughts with the world on his blog. He does what he can do. Shouldn’t we all?
A few months ago, Diane gave me a little paperweight with a quote from Winston Churchill. It says, “If you’re going through hell, keep going.”
Rock on, Diane. Rock on, Roger. Rock on, reader. Keep going. Do what you can do.