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It’s seven o’clock in the morning and my mother never cooks. Plus, she’s usually creeping around like an old woman because her joints ache, so to see her dancing and singing is just…
“Weird,” I mutter aloud.
Elsa jumps and turns to look at me, a smile breaking out on her face when she sees me. She turns the radio down but continues dancing as she pours the eggs onto a plate. “Chelsea! Nice to see you! It’s about time you came over for a visit.”
“But Mom, what are you doing?” I ask, stunned. “You’re certainly feeling better,” I comment while squinting at her svelte frame. Is this the same woman who was trying to convince me to buy her a wheelchair a few months ago? But this woman clearly doesn’t need it. Instead, Elsa’s gained weight and her hair is actually glossy and healthy looking. Plus, her skin has a rosy flush, instead of its usual sickly pallor. What happened?
“Iamfeeling better, and do you know why?” Elsa grins as she practically skips over to me.
“Why?” I tilt my head.
She cups her hand beside her mouth and looks around before whispering, “I’ve been micro-dosing shrooms!”
I stare at her, flummoxed.
“Really?”
“Yes, silly!” she nods, grinning. “I feel much better now, and to be honest, my Lyme disease may even be in remission because of the shrooms.”
I stare.
“Yeah, but are shrooms a recognized cure for Lyme?”
“Well, I don’t about it being a cure,” says Elsa loftily. “But it’s definitely helped a lot with the symptoms.”
I stare.
“But have you been consulting a doctor about this? You know shrooms are a psychedelic right? Besides, weren’t you the one who always told me to stay away from drugs?”
Mom scoffs, crossing her arms over her chest.
“This is different, Chelsea. It’s not like I’m shooting up heroin or doing crack on the street. Besides, there are plenty of people who micro-dose and the whole field of homeopathy is based on micro-dosing! Not all those people can be wrong, right?”
I shake my head.
“Homeopathy isnotbased on micro-dosing,” I state in a firm voice “And especially not psychedelics. Homeopathy is much more complicated than that and it involves an entire school of thought. Plus, even if homeopathic dilution is a part of homeopathic remedies, homeopathy as a field has been deemed fraudulent and the stuff of quackery by a lot of scientists. Honestly, I think you should consult a physician. This is serious stuff, Mom.”
Elsa merely scoffs.
“Chelsea, I am a forty-five-year-old grown woman and I’m old enough to have agency over my own body. You know how hard it’s been ever since I came down with Lyme.”
I stare.
“Yes, of course I know. Your joints ache, and you’re always exhausted. Totally get it.”
“But look at me now!” my mom sings while doing a three-sixty in the kitchen. “I’ve finally found something that seems to be helping me regain my health, and that’s what matters. I don’t care what you say, or what some doctor with his nose buried in a book says. What matters is how I feel, and right now, I feel amazing. I feel like I’ve been let out of a cage that’s been keeping me miserable and in pain for years.”
I nod.
“I get it, Mom, it’s just … well, I mean, I’d feel better if you saw a doctor about this as well.”
Elsa shrugs.
“My friend Nancy at work is the one who suggested shrooms. Her brother-in-law’s a doctor, and he knows she’s doing it, so it should be okay.”
I squint.
“But does Nancy have Lyme disease?”
