What is a Mommypotamus?
You see before you the starting point of Mommypotamus.com – a children’s book I love to read to our daughter. In the book, a socially hesitant potamus (for we all know by now how many varied forms of potami there truly are) sees everybody playing and doing cool stuff together, but she is always hanging back. I won’t spoil the ending for you, but it’s a real tearjerker.
With most of Katie’s stories I get bored and accidentally use the wrong voice for the wrong characters halfway through. But not with this one. I so obviously enjoy it each time we read this book that Daniel started calling me Mommypotamus. It stuck, because in a lot of ways the book is about me.
I experienced loss early in my life, and as a result I became a very timid, cautious person. Being fearful took a huge toll on my health, as did my total ignorance of what healthy food really was (at the time I thought that meant Grape Nuts with half a cup of sugar poured over the top). By my early twenties my health was failing. I was rail-thin and could not gain weight, my abdomen hurt constantly, and I had severe-acid reflux and acne. I was told not to get pregnant because I was not capable of carrying a baby to term.
I was alive, but I wasn’t living. I was sick of being sick, or so I thought. After seeing doctors, quacks and I don’t-even-know-what-to-call-them, I came to a very strange conclusion: Being sick had a payoff for me.
Being “sickly” got me attention. Being afraid to “get out there” and take chances didn’t. I wanted life to come to me without me having to take any risks. But in choosing to be a “hanger-backer” I had slowly evolved into the girl in the plastic bubble.
God knows what He is doing. He knew that if my body were healed it would do nothing for my sick soul. Don’t you think it’s strange that when Jesus met the lame man at the pool of Bethesda, he asked him if we wanted to be well? But really, how many of us define ourselves by our weaknesses (and actually enjoy it on some level)?
So at the perfect time I met a fabulous doctor (not an M.D., a PhD) who used a modified version of acupuncture to help me recover. The timing was perfect, as I said, because I was ready to be well. It worked. For the first year I lived in daily amazement of the almost deafening silence of my body. Without pain coursing through me every minute of every day things looked so very different. I rushed headlong into life, sucking in every possible experience.
I used to be alive without living. Now I have said “yes” to life: All the good stuff with pain and disappointment mixed in. All of it. Now, when people pay attention to me (and they sometimes do!), I want it to be because I have something loving, funny, or helpful to say. I want to live my life so loudly that people can’t help but take notice. Not in the “spotlight-hog” kind of way, just in the plain ole “everybody has something worth saying” way.
For those of you that have read the book, it is for this reason that with all my heart I cry:
“But YES the Mommypotamus!!!”
Melanie Buck
I am printing this and putting it on the fridge. Beautiful, brave and inspirational.
Heather
Thank you, Melanie. I really can’t put into words what your response means to me.
Richard
Daniel told me a little bit about the history of the name, but failed to mention all of this. Defiantly a defining story. This is definitely one to bookmark for later use.
.-= Richard´s last blog ..Why Your Credit Score Matters =-.
Heather
That’s a good way to put it, Richard. There are a lot of defining stories in our lives. Most of the early ones are about what happens to us, but the later ones are about what happens within us. I like the later ones better.
Joanna Moore
we just read that the night before last. i LOVE sandra boynton books… i really should just go find and buy them all! riley and i like to use different foreign accents each time we read it, just to add to the fun. i never really thought that deeply into the theme that you’ve drawn out of it, so thanks for opening my eyes! “but YES!….” is julia’s favorite part and she always chimes in with excitement.
.-= Joanna Moore´s last blog ..Thankful Thursday =-.
Heather
I love her books, too. In fact, I’m not sure I don’t like them more than Katie does!
Des
Okay! totally going to be getting that book on Amazon. What an amazing post Heather. Great job!
.-= Des´s last blog ..My Kids Grew Overnight =-.
Heather
Thanks, Destiny. I am SO glad you’re back!
Kristine
Wow, that’s amazing! I’m SO glad your my sister-in-law.
CHERI DESSINGER
It has and continues to be a joy to get to know you, Heather. One would never know what you have been through. When I look at my own life, I wonder if this pain thing is an attention getter. It sure doesn’t feel like it. Have a great day, and give everyone a hug.
Heather
Cheri, I hope my post doesn’t imply that I believe everyone struggling with an illness has the same issues I did. This was definitely a personal journey for me. I’m continuing to pray for resolution to your back pain.
Daniel (Daddypotamus)
… but not the Daddydillo
.-= Daniel (Daddypotamus)´s last blog ..Prophetic Vision Casting Versus Practical Teaching =-.
Erin Hessel
Thank you for sharing your journey! I don’t have experience with laser-acupuncture…but I see similar cases in my acupuncture/herbal clinic all the time. We always have the ability to choose our perception of whatever circumstance we are in, which I believe is a first step in true healing and true power. Also, the interconnectedness of our emotions and our health. Fear, anger, joy (yes-hyperactive joy), grief and worry are the five main contibutors to many discomforts according to Chinese medicine. Just as it is important to treat disease with the appropriate medicine, to heal we must consider our emotions and spirit as much as our physical bodies. Acupuncture certainly played an enormous part in my own path and I’m happy to hear it was for you as well. You go, mommypotamus!
.-= Erin Hessel´s last blog ..Healthy Homemade Granola =-.
Heather
Erin, I’m so glad you brought up how interconnected our emotions and bodies are. A few months ago I sat sobbing in my chiropractor’s office, scared that I had lost our baby. The chiro is a close friend and he treated me for emotions using an acupressure technique (I think). It immediately calmed me and I was able to go forward with more clarity. It was an amazing experience.
Linda
What an amazing post! So inspirational! I look forward to reading your blog and getting to know more about you.
.-= Linda´s last blog ..New Look =-.
Amanda
Are you a graduate of Landmark Education? I just ask because the way you talk in your post has the vibe of someone who has gone through Landmark. (www.landmarkeducation.com)
In either case, remarkable story and I’m glad I found your blog today. I’ll be spending a lot more time here!
Amanda´s last [type] ..Change is in the air
Marybeth
Hi Heather, I found your blog today looking for Standard Process cleanse recipes. I am ecstatic – firstly because your recipes are amazing and I have only been eating plain salad, roasted veggies and plain chicken! – and secondly, because your writing is inspiring and exciting. I used to blog and put time and effort into it as a means of finding myself and examining my feelings/experiences, but I have let it go. I am excited to subscribe to your feed and keep reading!
God Bless,
Marybeth
Heather
Marybeth – Wow, I get tons of hits for those cleanse recipes (I am actually working on some better ones for an ebook right now . . . chutneys, relishes, coconut lime soups, oh my!) but almost no one that reads those posts sticks around. So thanks, it’s great to meet you!!
Leah
Hi Heather, I found you while looking for BPA-free tomato paste, and something kept your page up on my computer for several days. I am so glad I started poking around! I believe God is teaching me how to feed my family right now, and the changes will be very difficult but definitely worth it! I will consider you a source of inspiration while I learn.
Heather
Hello! I’m enjoying looking through your site and I’m especially interested in the Standard Process cleanse recipes, as I’m just starting the process today. However, I can’t seem to access the recipes, and many of them looked quite tasty when I managed to get a glance, so I am quite interested!
Would you happen to have all of them somewhere and are they still accessible?
Thank you,
Heather
Heather
Hi Heather! You can find and index of the recipes here: http://www.mommypotamus.com/food/standard-process-cleanse-recipes/. I’m publishing a recipe guide this month with even better recipes (you can see photos here http://www.mommypotamus.com/the-secret-is-in-the-sauce/), so if you recommend the cleanse to a friend please let them know about me!
Elisabeth
Funny, all this time and I never actually knew the story behind the Mommypotamus. Love it. Let me take this moment to say, you are an absolutely beautiful person, and I’ve kind of been in awe of you since we first met. A continuing trend. I’m *often* amazed by you.
Heather
Um, you made me cry. I felt the same way about you when we first met . . . and still do.
Sili
Lovely! Thank you for sharing!
Iris Hasty
I own a few Sandra Boynton books, but not this one, heading to the library Monday (hopefully) to get it. I clicked on a link from http://www.healthforgenerations.com and found you. I am eager to continue clicking around and soaking up all the knowledge. Thanks for sharing your story a little and convicting me a lot!
Heather
So glad you stopped by, Iris! Thanks for your comment!
Tracy P
What a beautiful story! I am so glad you made the choice to *want* to be well AND that you are sharing it with us! I am new to your blog, but I love all everything about it already… keep it up!
Heather
Thank you, Tracy! And welcome!!
Jenny
Hi there Heather! I just found your blog because I was “googling” some “primal” (aka grain free) recipes for thanksgiving! I just LOVE this post and can TOTALLY relate! I myself suffer from digestive disorders and mysterious pains and a “sick” part of me DOES receive some sort of validation from “being sick”. It’s as if my mind says “see – I really DON”T feel good – feel sorry for me, blah blah blah”. And while I DO NOT at all enjoy feeling that way – I can see how subconsciously holding on to that “validation” can prevent me from getting well. I like when you said you like getting attention now for having something loving or funny to say and living life OUT LOUD! LOVE IT! I am inspired
Thank you for sharing and I am happy to have found your lovely blog. Happy Turkey Day!! xoxo
Heather
Hi Jenny, so wonderful to “meet” you! I hope you feel welcome here and I look forward to seeing you around.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Jeannette Aurora
I am so glad I found your site. Not only because I’m about to be a mommy again and due to PPD I missed out on being a new mom with our first so this is all “new” for me… but also because I have always been a lover and collector of hippos. I have never heard of this book but it sounds like my son and I would both relate to the hippo. I’m gonna head out and pick up this book today! Thanks! And I look forward to browsing through your blog.
Jeannette Aurora´s last [type] ..Ultimate Blog Party 2012!
Heather
So nice to meet you, Jeannette! Congrats on your pregnancy and I hope you love the book!
Erica
Would love to talk with you more about the fabulous doctor, if it would be alright with you. I’m not really sure how to email you here but I will mosey over to Facebook and send you a message. I have been living in a plastic bubble, my house, since December 2010 and I need help.
Erica´s last [type] ..Corn Free Deodorant Recipe – It Smells…
Heather
I’ll share as much as I remember, but unfortunately he’s retired now and though he tried no one was able to learn his technique
Jessica
I was sitting in the park tonight watching my kids thinking “I can’t go on like this. After three kids I still have 25 pounds to lose, I hurt everywhere and I feel like “I just can’t do it”. Thankfully I am just starting now to heal my body and have read Nourishing Traditions. I’m halfway through Deep Nutrition and just need a boost to actually implement all my new found knowledge. I felt so wonderful reading that you used to be a junk food junkie and now you are so healthy, it made it all seem possible to me!
Heather
I’m so glad my story encouraged you, Jessica!
Candace S.
Reading your story brought me to tears. Sometimes when “life” really hits you you feel like you want to stop living. What you wrote about accepting life with all of the ups and downs is finally where I am at. I agree, especially with you saying: “God knows what He is doing. He knew that if my body were healed it would do nothing for my sick soul.” Oh how I understand that. I am so grateful you wrote this cause it’s so easy for us to feel like we are alone in our suffering but it’s like Gods word says “You have been put to no test but such as is common to man” we all suffer. I finally realized after almost being at the brink of death that I want to pass this test with flying colors and since 2008 I have been on my road to health. I’m not 100% (yet
but I am on my way. I WANT to be well 
AND I’m saying yes to life! God bless you!
josefina
hello,
Somewhere in your website I saw “coconut kefir ” can you inform me about how to make it please ?
thank y you .
Josefina from Spain
Tricia
Hi I really enjoyed reading about you. Yes it does help to not be blindsided that other people experience young life unfortunate circumstances that change them forever. I lost my Mom at 15 and am 32 now and the older I get feel like my bubble gets tougher to get out of. I want to open up and be the person I was before the great loss of my Mom. I am going to really try hard for I am the Mom now, a friend told me not long ago. I never thought of it in that way. Will love to purchase this book to share with myself and children! Thank you! This was a great New Year’s Day insight.
La Gallina
Wow! Your story brought tears to my eyes. What a gift you are. I recently bought your two ebooks, have read them both, and have learned a ton. ( I didn’t eve know it was possible to make one’s own shampoo!) Thanks for sharing your knowledge and your story. You are making the world a better place.
Faith Ballesteros
South Padre Island, TX
Kim Plancich
Hi Heather!
I just found your blog, and love your inspiration/journey to natural healing – I, too, discovered my physical ailments were all wrapped Up in my mental and emotional state…I wrote about it here on my blog if you care to read! http://raisingbabesnaturally.blogspot.com/2012/07/sessions-with-helen-clairvoyant.html?m=1
I’ll definitely be linking to some of your posts if that’s ok?
Love and light~
Kim Plancich
Actually it’s this post, sorry: http://raisingbabesnaturally.blogspot.com/2012/04/my-story-part-2.html?m=1
Kira
I’ve been reading your blog for a while now but just read this post for the first time, and now I like you even more. My absolute favorite book to read to my kids is “But Not the Hippopotamus” too! And yet I had never connected the dots with your name. So great. Thank you for all the hard work you do, your writing is a blessing!
Kira´s last [type] ..Fess Up Friday~ Baby Shower Games
Heather
Awww, that’s awesome! Micah is at the age where he loves Sandra Boynton so we are enjoying her books all over again!
Tina
I knew we were kindrid spirits when I saw the book, which is a favorite around our house. Reading the post made it even better. Thank you for the post and your blog. I look forward to delving in.
Page
I just discovered your site a few days ago and it has been life changing! You’re writing is brilliant, funny, honest, and such a blessing! This story really resonates with me as I find myself in much the same boat you once were and I’m ready to heal! Thank you for being so brave and sharing so that so many others may benefit from your experiences. You are truly an inspiration and an amazing woman! Thank you for this blog and all your hard work – you are a true gift form God <3