I Am…Living One December at a Time
What 30 years of Crohn's has taught me about joy, limits, and letting myself off the hook
For more than 30 years, Crohn’s has been the unseen force shaping my days. The flare patterns, the treatments that worked—until they didn’t—the surgeries, the times of hope, and the times of hoping for new options to appear. You don’t just “have” Crohn’s for this long. It becomes woven into how you move through the world.
Every December, I’m reminded of this truth all over again. For people who’ve lived with Crohn’s or colitis for decades, the holidays can feel like an annual stress test. But there are things we can do to protect ourselves in a season that isn’t built for sensitive systems.
Here are a few of my tips:
Ginger: I drink it as a tea, nosh on pickled slices, keep chewy ginger candies tucked into a pocket for outings. Others have success with plain crystallized ginger, gingersnaps or other ginger cookies, and ginger ale with real ginger.
The BRAT diet: bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast still save me when my system feels unsettled.
Mint tea for calming nausea.
Instead of raw vegetables, cooked ones.
Low-fiber meals during travel days or flares.
My safety net: Ensure or similar nutrition shakes.
None of this is glamorous, but it's real. It can also be emotional. As a fellow Smart Patients member said, “Sometimes I feel lost.”
This is a big part of Crohn’s and colitis we don’t usually talk about during Awareness Week: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) becomes part of your being. You build your life around what your body can and can’t do.
For me, December has become a month of choosing gentleness. Choosing quiet joy over pressure. Choosing the foods that support me, not the foods that impress others. Choosing to show up in the ways I can, even if that means saying no to some invitations or stepping away early. Crohn’s may shape my holidays but it doesn’t define my worth.
This first week of December is Crohn’s and Colitis Awareness Week. It reminds me to celebrate the strength that comes from endurance, the wisdom that comes from experience, and the steady courage it takes to live one December at a time. Those are gifts worth keeping.
You can build a meaningful, connected life—even in the hardest seasons—when you surround yourself with people who understand the road you’ve walked.