My Story | Chapter 2: 'When I Was a Stay-at-Home Mom' - Small Moments of Unease That Changed My Perspective

"Huh... something... this taste... is different."
One day, while eating a store-bought bento box,
I suddenly thought that.

It wasn't that it was bad.
It wasn't that I couldn't eat it.

But, there was some kind of unease.
It just didn't taste that good.

In the past, I surely would have eaten it without a second thought.

By that time, I had started to become a little more conscious of what I was eating.

After getting married and moving, I resigned from the university hospital.
After that, I gave birth to my eldest daughter,
and for a while, I focused on raising my child.

The center of my life shifted from work to family,
and I began cooking at home for my family
more and more.

Especially for my baby's meals,
I kept them as simple as possible. I didn't use strong seasonings,
so that she could taste the ingredients themselves.

"Because this is what builds this child's body."
With that thought in mind, I began to choose what we ate.

And it wasn't just food that I became conscious of.

The detergents I used every day also touched our skin, so
I chose things that were as gentle on the skin and the environment as possible.

Things my family used every day. The place where we lived.
What we put in our mouths.
Little by little, I began to think about and choose each and every thing.

While raising my child,
I also started hearing various stories.
"My child has an allergy..."
Opportunities to hear such stories also increased.

When I was working as a nurse,
of course, I already knew about these things.

But, having become a mother myself and being in a position to raise a child, I began to hear those stories with a different sensibility than before.

"Why is this happening?"
"What is happening to the children's bodies?"

Such questions
began to grow within me little by little.

Of course, I didn't have a clear answer at that time.

However,
"Perhaps our bodies are being influenced by the things we choose every day."

I began to think in that way.

As I continued living like that,
I also noticed a certain change.

"Huh? Did my sense of taste change?"
But, looking back now, rather than my sense of taste changing,
it might have been a sensation of my senses, which had been dulled until now, gradually returning.
I was feeling the taste of the ingredients themselves more often.

That is why, regarding the taste of the bento box that I hadn't minded before,
"Hmm? Something is different."
I began to feel that way.
Rather than saying I became sensitive to the taste of additives,

it was more like

I became able to feel the original taste.That was the feeling.
And through this small experience,

"Our bodies really do perceive things."
I began to think that little by little.
The body might be

more honest than we think.
But, in our busy daily lives, we sometimes overlook those small signs.

At that time, I wasn't thinking that deeply yet.

However,

"What we put into our bodies is important."
"Our daily choices are connected to our bodies."
As a mother, I was

starting to feel those things little by little.
And the small awareness that sprouted during this time would later change my life significantly.


Instead of "thinking about it after getting sick,"
"is there anything I can do before I get sick?"
This question,
I began to hold onto little by little.
I didn't know it yet at this time.
That this question would eventually lead me down the path of "prevention."
--To be continued in Chapter 3.