There's no Such Thing as a Stupid Question

“Hey, I have a quick question."
“What’s up Jules”?
“I am making this fish dish, and the recipe says to broil it. How does one broil a piece of fish”?

She paused before she slowly spoke into the phone, as if she were waiting for me to start laughing and tell her I was kidding.

“Uh… well, you, uh… press the broil button that should be near the oven clock.”

“Oh. I see it. Imagine that! Thanks."

And just like that, at the age of 34, I broiled my first piece of fish.

I've always had the cleanest kitchen out of all of my friends, simply because I never used it. I lost that bragging right last year after I was diagnosed with chronic Lyme disease. The past fifteen months have been very tough physically and mentally. In addition to feeling lousy and taking copious amounts of antibiotics daily, I've been attempting to adjust to lifestyle changes and food restrictions that I was strongly urged to follow as part of my treatment. 

Since 2001, when not at work, I've been balancing training for triathlons/marathons, socializing all over Washington DC and going on adventure vacations that many would not consider a vacation. These activities have been put on hold and I anxiously wait for the day they can resume. In the meantime I am extremely lucky to have wonderfully supportive family, friends and colleagues, who have been there every step of the way with me. It’s been a long journey for all of us; sadly there is no expiration date on a chronic disease so they need to remain on call. Finding humor in my health issues and my cooking mishaps has been a good way to remain laughing and mostly positive while adjusting to everything.

Don’t know much about Lyme disease? You can Google it. Or you can just follow my blog which will be a lot less scientific and more fun to read.