Making headway in a rock-hard head

Tonight, as The Man was on his way out the door to get himself something to eat (I did way too much this weekend so tonight's dinner plans are shelved until tomorrow, so stay tuned...), he kissed me on the cheek. I was so proud!

He has been very stubborn about trying to understand gluten intolerance and Celiac. Since I went GF several months ago, I heard a lot of "a little bit won't hurt you" and "now that's going a little far" when I bought separate, duplicate items like butter, marking it as mine and GF.

He would get upset when he would lean in for a kiss; I would turn my mouth away, knowing what he had eaten/drunk that day. The Man didn't like that as he felt like I was turning him away.

One day this last week, I want to say Tuesday, he listened. Really listened. And asked questions. I explained to him how I felt when I accidently (and in the past: accidently on purpose) ingested gluten: very lethargic, sick to my stomach, headaches from hell, wanting to curl up into a fetal ball under the comforter with a wish that the day would just end so tomorrow I could feel better. I read things on the internet from various Celiac organizations.

He's never known me "healthy." Two months before I met him - 10 years ago - I got a very nasty case of food poisoning. From that day forward until a few months ago, I would eat and be nauseous. I would grab a couch cushion and exist for a few hours until I was forced to get off my butt.

Yesterday, he took a bite of one of the peanut blossoms with the GF cookie base. His eyebrows raised. He promptly stuffed the rest of the cookie in his mouth. What did he say? "It has more flavor than the old way." Huh - imagine that.

The Man is a big beer fan.

He kissed me on the cheek before he left.

He finally gets it.