My 40 Year old Wife Did the Impossible, and I Lose It

The kids had this great idea to wake up early in the morning and decorate for the beautiful one. It's coming along nicely, Lily. Mom hasn't woke up yet. I like your little happy birthday crown. All right, we finished decorating. It's time to go do chores.

I think she's gonna feel very, very special.

You see, it's a very special day for her. It's her— and I love to tell people this when they're talking to her in town. They're always telling her how great she looks and how energetic she seems. And I love to say, you know, she's turning 40. To see their looks— she looks absolutely amazing. There's a reason I call her the beautiful one. All right, what we want to do this morning is actually finish Beauty's cucumber trellises as a birthday gift.

But we got a ton of chores to do. We just need to cut these down maybe to about right there and attach, attach these to the frame. What'd you get done while I was up there?

The pigs, and I checked out— I looked at the Burhens, made sure they had food and water.

They did. Okay, good job. And what about these chicks here?

They've got food and water too.

Yesterday or the day before?

The lamps are on.

I fed them yesterday.

Okay, you've got to do the ICs.

I've got to move the crop chickens, then we'll meet back and put her cucumber trellis together.

Didn't you just go do—

Sorry, um, sea monsters. A little overwhelmed. It's 6 after milking at 9. I want to get this cucumber trellis done, but things got to get done on this farm. I got to move these crop garden chickens over so we can begin softening this soil with silage tarp for bed preparation this weekend. The chickens have done a good job in here. They fertilized it. We need to prep this, so let's move them over here. Into our cover crop. Look, clover, peas, rye. Wow, that took just 10 minutes. Yes, that means we have 40 minutes to work on Mama's cucumbers. Something to attach these things to. U-nails?

No U-nails over where my nails are.

So my other idea, if we have them, this looks like this would be where I would keep— oh wait, there we go. That'll work. Forgot about that. EMT straps. That's perfect. All right, what we're going to try to do here— she wants it attached to the outside. Uh, I'm thinking, where do we want to cut it? Probably about right here. We're going to need to cut it, especially we're putting on the outside, to get it out of our way. Could you get me your Sawzall with your wood blade and metal blade for that matter? Because we're gonna need to make another cattle panel. That cilantro there smells delicious. All right, you want me to do that part?

I got it.

Okay, do another one. Good idea, Jonah. Give yourself a platform over the raised bed. Jonah, will you put one at the bottom and then right here at the middle too? Let's measure what these are and cut our other ones. 32 and a half. All right, all right, we got our trellises cut. Oh boy, I could have done a bit better of a job there. Guess Latoya and Garrison— hold this for me, Garrison. You never know what you're gonna do around here, buddy. I gotta make this look better.

So you done?

Good job, it looks really good.

What time is it? Oh, we got 7 minutes left.

I think we can do it. I guess you could— you could either hold it or put it on the inside for now.

I'm literally out of screws.

Oh, Josiah! Josiah, did he go get you some screws? Well, they go find the screws. That's enough. Well, shoot, I was hoping we could do this, but we have to wait on the screws. Yeah, there went our schedule. It's already 5 after.

You didn't find the bucket?

I know we're late. Could you, uh, just get more milk? Go start getting the cows while I finish this. Sure. What do you think of these, Rebecca?

It looks great. Okay, I really, really like it.

Good.

Wait for them.

Is it the right height? Yeah, I think put them on the outside like you requested. They can get to them easy. Now let's see if it works. They look real good.

Rebecca, this video, this message is for you.

What are you working on this morning, Rebecca?

I need to take my plants out of the greenhouse and water them. All these, like, I came in and all the plants were like that and I was like, I ruined the plants! Oh, first try, babe! It's the first try. Awesome. Did you wash them off?

Yeah.

Thanks. Mmm, so good.

We all decided to give it to you.

Thank you! Let me have a hug. You think Gideon would do it too? Uh, who knows? Who knows?

Yes, probably.

Hey, Dad.

Over the last year and a half, you had an absolute mega health crisis. You didn't feel well. I mean, that's— That's too light. That's too light. You just felt terrible.

What are you doing here, Rebecca?

I'm just taking them out because it's too hot in the greenhouse to leave them, and then it also hardens them off. Hardens them off.

Okay.

So that when we plant them, they don't freak out.

Rebecca, you grew those plants.

I know, isn't that exciting?

That— you look excited.

It's exciting.

So this time last year, yeah, you were not planting those plants.

I did plant some last year, but I was not as successful, I think.

No, so this time last year, how did you feel?

I did not feel as good as I feel now. I felt a lot anxiety and tired and— digestively not well. So yeah, I felt a lot better.

Mm-hmm.

But instead of just resolving to maybe this chronic illness, just settling into it because it was sort of a mystery, you didn't do that. Even though some doctors couldn't even help you, some really smart people couldn't even help you, you didn't give up. You didn't let that be a normal— kind of like a normal person a normal person would have done. You didn't do that. You fought back.

What you doing?

Uh, just coming to use the internet.

What's today? 40 years ago you were in a lot of pain.

No, not till 11 AM. Yeah, at church.

11 AM. I know Lily asked me what time I was born. 11:40. It was like 8 o'clock. We got 12 hours.

So you were born at 11:40.

11:40 at church.

No, that's my first contraction, 11:20, and then 11:40, 12 o'clock, I said, oh no, this is it.

Oh no, was it Mother's Day?

No, it was the week before Mother's Day. And, um, you were born at 8:40. 8:40, and I went to the hospital at 5:30, and boy, I just made it.

She just made it.

And what was Bruce doing there during all this?

I don't know, probably having a cup of coffee. How old's Grandma? 47.

47.

Maybe 49.

She's 49.

You weren't going to accept that, and for you that meant gobs of research, tons of professionals, countless amounts of tests, and how many diet changes? Did we go through to begin trying to heal you through food?

You're back at this this afternoon, right? How much do you love those plants?

I love them so much because I went to a plant sale this weekend and each one of these plants would be $3 to $4 to $5 depending on—

you're talking about a lot of dineros right there.

I know, man. This will give us pumpkins, which will be saving dollar bills and this will give us tomatoes and cauliflower. But then some of this stuff are just flowers. Like, that whole thing is flowers. Over there's flowers.

You know, they're hoping for the dollar bill song.

Dollar, dollar bills, dollar, dollar, dollar.

Is that your mic?

It's my mic. I had to turn it off. Okay.

Yeah, you don't want to swing into that thing.

So some of this will go in my raised beds. Okay. Then in the middle garden between the walkway and the grass, that's where a lot of like this will go, this will go, um, that will go.

Okay.

I want to plant some pumpkins in there too, so.

All right, well, we're gonna make it happen for you.

And now you've landed on this really intense diet, especially at first, the GAPS diet, and It's amazing to see how it's changed you. Even just in your taste for food. One, you never drank a lot of broth. Now you drink— insist on broth at every single meal. You never ate yogurt. Well, you did.

You would eat—

you would hold your nose and you would eat one scoop of yogurt and gag the entire time. Now you're eating gobs of yogurt. You're eating avocado. It makes me wonder what we— I don't even have to wonder what you would do if I told you Hey Rebecca, really, the only way that you're going to be healed is to eat ripe bananas.

Do you like bananas?

No.

She would probably do that.

If you were to eat a banana, what would happen?

I mean, I would survive, but it would be gross.

Show me your face if you had to eat one.

No, no, she would not probably do it. She would even eat Bananas! Why don't you like bananas?

They're just so gross.

It's one thing to inspire people through polished Instagram or YouTube videos, but it's a whole nother thing to inspire someone who lives with you 24/7 and is actually with you during that time. Sees your good, bad, and ugly. That's me. I've been totally inspired by the sacrifices, by the commitment you've made, by the pushing on, even in moments of doubt, to keep on moving forward. Even when moments that we should doubt, or you should doubt, you just kept going. Even when there was no hope, you just kept going. And now you inspire me as somebody who's been with you all the time, just to be a better person. To always improve myself, to work on myself, that self-care is all right, that it's okay. It's that airplane analogy. You got to put the oxygen mask on yourself before you can help others. And that's you. You've taken such great good care of yourself and have such a commitment that now that is inspiring me to do the same.

What are you making, Beauty?

I am making cake. It's supposed to have fruit in it, but I don't know if I'm gonna put fruit in it.

I might put fruit It's called yellow cake?

Well, it's called strawberry cake.

But you're putting a lemon—

But it has lemon in it.

Oh, okay.

Then we'll put the butter over the top of it, so then I'll spread this butter over it. It's cultured cream whipped with honey and vanilla.

Oh my gosh, that's gonna be amazing.

And then we have strawberries to put on top of it.

Lettuce from our farm. Sausage and bacon from our farm.

Did you get a salad? Yes. You want dressing? No.

This guy's pizza is looking delicious.

That's good.

You've had the pizza?

Yeah, I enjoyed it very much.

Doing the dishes.

Yeah, I am.

Here we go. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you.

Happy birthday, dear Mommy or Mama.

Happy birthday to you.

That was not hard.

What'd you wish for?

Uh, 45 more.

85, huh?

Or 50. I'll take 60.

100.

Okay, I'm not even halfway there, so Wait, this is your birthday present? Apparently.

Who's that from?

Me.

You gave her Royal?

Yeah.

How nice. I don't think Royal has any complaints.

Kitty, kitty, kitty. It's a—

a headband! Thank you!

Where'd you get that?

Uh, outside. Under grass. Can I help you? Uh—

Oh!

That's real.

That actually got squished in the wrapping paper.

Oh, okay. Did you know about that?

It was such an accident.

It's just a—

It's a shelf for your greenhouse.

Oh good!

You can show your father muscles.

Yes! Thank you, Jonah.

Oh!

Oh, that's just what I wanted!

Oh my gosh.

This is what I needed yesterday.

Show them your redneck. So that's just in time.

It is a notepad that says be happy, and I can keep this in my purse. And then when I need to write something down, I can write something down thanks to you. Thank you!

Lily.

Oh! Some magnets?

One more from me. I wrapped it fancy.

Oh, look at this! Look at this purse that I ordered for myself!

That you picked out for yourself.

I ordered it.

Nice.

I like it because it can hold a water bottle.

Can I have your old purse?

Can I? What?

To give to Grandma?

Sure.

From Josiah. Dear Mama, you're the best mom. I hope you have a good birthday. I hope you have a good time. Thank you, Josiah.

Hey, you guys want to do the blessing?

Yeah, yeah.

Bless the birthday person. I want you to go first, okay?

Okay.

Bless your mama.

Uh, I'm fun to be around.

I'm fun to be around?

Oh.

Got 2 necklaces. My turn. Can you give the necklace, this necklace to me?

No, me. No, me.

Okay, cool.

I'm apparently not allowed to have more than one. Of anything.

Mama's a good mom.

Aww.

And she's fun to play with. And she cleans up the house for me.

And I clean up the house?

Yep.

Aww. She's a good mom. She buys all the stuff for us. Cheap. Well, UPS buys us toys.

UPS does. Is that who really buys the stuff?

UPS.

I wish UPS was paying for all that.

And she's a good mom. She's fun to be around. Good mom. She buys us all the stuff we need.

Does she write us stories?

Well, not really. What does that pickle go? She takes care of us when we're sick.

One thing I think about is that she's a helper. She's ready to help all of you, but us too.

Thanks, Mom.

You're welcome.

Becky was trying to go to school when she was 2 years old. She wanted to go with her sister. She'd cry. We had to hold her back. She was a good student. Oh, thank you. Still is.

Yeah, I guess I still love to read and learn.

Obey the rules?

I do like to obey the rules.

I've seen all the hard work you've put in. You've inspired me to be a better person. You've inspired tens of thousands of people to be a better person and to do something about their health, and for a very good reason. For that, I bless you, and I thank you, and I love you. And I say that on behalf of— I only have one more sentence.

I'm feeling it for—

For you guys, for now, for now, for the audience and Phil and— because you've— Rebecca, you've impacted so many people. These people watching. You've done something so big that I don't even think you can imagine it and you're too humble to even consider it. Because you're such a normal person. You're exactly who you are in person, but who you are on camera And I'm so thankful for you, and this audience is very thankful for you that we can just not express it enough. So thank you, thank you, thank you.

Now open them. Yeah, yeah. Oh, you guys did a good job. Thank you.

I did this, Mama.

You did that?

Thank you, Mama. You're the hardest. Is what— is this too loud?

No, it's It's perfect. Thank you. Got your safety first glasses on?

No, I just wear them. Hey Papa, get off here twice.

You guys want me to go on there?

Oh yeah.

Oh, can you handle the big boy?

We're a bunch of old people.

Slightly terrifying.

Hand you stuff because I don't know where it goes, but I can hand it to you. This is coming to life. Mom's herb garden.

Can I plant this?

Are these in—

are these in the spots?

Yeah.

Rebecca's birthday!

Woo!

And yes, we are in a hotel room.

That's right.

Happy birthday. Is that not the best birthday gift you could ever get?

So good.

Slept 10 hours last night.

10 hours straight. No interruptions. Did you wake up? Yeah. So how old are you today?

27?

Mm-hmm.

Hey kids, guess how old Mom is?

27!

11. No, 28.

Oh! Gideon, come get in the hug!

Look at Gideon's face, he's running. Don't miss out, buddy! Aww, thank you guys for making my birthday special!

What's it feel like to be 37? You feel like you've grown up yet?

It feels old. It feels good. Yeah, it feels like I've grown up a little bit.

Wow, good job, Mother! This is your last gift. Ah!