My thoughts:
- The more crap you put up with, the more crap you’re gonna get.
My info: Suddenly Celiac: Auto-Immune Diseases Are Sooo Clique-ish!, by sheriwetherell

It's been awhile since I've written but I've been busy with health stuff. I've acquired another auto-immune disease. When I got diagnosed with Celiac disease my gastroenterologist told me it's common as auto-immune diseases tend to "cluster" as he put it. What is it? Do they get lonely and just need a friend to hang out with? Is their self-esteem diminished by our attempts to keep them at bay and they feel inadequate being alone? Strength in numbers, I guess.
Apparently, my friend Celiac got bored with me (or perhaps angry? disillusioned? taken for granted?) because I've been so good on this gluten-free diet thing. I don't know the reason why, it doesn't really talk to me anymore, but it decided to get a new pal, Sjogren's. No problem, I'm tough, I can handle it. I mean, I've got one already, what's one more? (Supposedly that's also said of children, but I still stopped at one). It's just that now the two of them, along with their sidekick Gastritis (who frankly is the gang leader in all this) get a real kick out of bullying me and I never know when they're going to strike. Like just this week, I ate something - I'm still trying to figure out what - and Gastritis totally goes off on me! Out of nowhere, sheesh! It's so sensitive. For the last two days I've been sipping on miso-spiked bone broth just get it to calm the eff down.
The problem with cliques like these is that they never want to be your friend. They enjoy singling out the weak ones to aim their wrath. I try to kill them with kindness and use honey rather than vinegar (literally) like I was taught. I try and use humor to get them to laugh and to like me. Don't smile, you'll crack your face!, I tell them, in what I think is a cute sing-songy voice that might make them giggle, but they refuse to show me any compassion. They just huddle together and look at me sideways, and I have no idea what they're saying. Then, out of nowhere, when I'm least expecting it - wham! - it's a one-two punch to the stomach.
I've had enough, I tell you. I am damn tired of taking the high road, of getting up each morning with a smile on my face and my brave you can do it, you can get through this day face on. No, from here on out it's war. So watch out, bitches, I'm bringing you down.
Sharon’s 125 friends:
- Corrine White
- Phillip Porter
- Emma Cantu
- Sheldon Robinson
- Sonja Strickland
- Jakob Gray
- Mabel Neal
- Jared Prince
- Lynn Vaughn
- Malcolm Callahan
- Fern Shaffer
- Jessie Velez
- Carol Adkins
- Dominique Harper
- Kanye Boyd
- Jordy Vaughn
- Latasha Strickland
- Dante Bowen
- Dillon Mitchell
- Alexander James
- Dana Chavez
- Johan Elliott
- Tracy Salas
- Joseph Trevino
- Norma Fletcher
- Angel Yang
- Dillon Copeland
- Manuel Newton
- Seamus Hart
- William Terry
- Dominick Kramer
- Edgar Mccarthy
- Tonya Willis
- Oscar Michael
- Megan Nguyen
- Paul Wallace
- Betty Tanner
- River Goodwin
- Virginia Henderson
- Cayden Patrick
- Dolly Leonard
- Bruce Petersen
- Oscar King
- Camron Francis
- Anthony Herrera
- Brock Hart
- Bernard Mosley
- Neil Olson
- Kaleb Brady
- Devyn Kane
- Zachariah Salas
- Roberto Myers
- Dwayne Figueroa
- Marshall Butler
- Nathan Moss
- Kody Murphy
- Paul Lewis
- German Molina
- Charlie Contreras
- Carlos Norman
- Danny Dickerson
- Russell Woods
- Trisha Townsend
- Oswaldo O’Brien
- Crystal Wood
- Drew Elliott
- Joan Chambers
- Todd Ortiz
- Maria Valdez
- Santiago Davis
- Lou Berger
- Arturo Strong
- Kristine Guzman
- Braden Rhodes
- Stacey Bell
- Sergio Armstrong
- Abigail Molina
- Malik Davis
- Dominique Fernandez
- Jamar O’Brien
- Lenora Benson
- Emmanuel Brown
- Phyllis Dennis
- Zander Weaver
- Lydia Griffin
- Brennan Le
- Verna Gallegos
- Jonas Ferguson
- Katherine Blackwell
- Justice Kennedy
- Iris Rojas
- Isaiah Lewis
- Susan Day
- Reed Graham
- Joann Trevino
- Howard Santiago
- Gwendolyn Bowen
- Ivan Haynes
- Vicki Rose
- Travis Rush
- Della Sanchez
- Rowan Cox
- Latasha Terrell
- Dominic Stanley
- Ursula Jennings
- Oscar Herman
- Catherine Hall
- Moises Poole
- Luella Hayes
- Roman Thornton
- Molly Mccoy
- Logan Anthony
- Faye Romero
- Lee Gallegos
- Sheila Gregory
- Nathaniel Cohen
- Sophia Wong
- Micah Fletcher
- Olga Tran
- Tucker Garner
- Stacy Gibson
- Ignacio Morgan
- Mona Lane
- Anthony Neal
- Lena Hamilton