There it was, the dreaded sign up sheet for snack. The sheet that told all the other parents that you were a responsible and organized parent who could handle bringing snacks for 25 kids.
But as I looked closer written on the bottom of the sheet, I saw it - nut allergy, please make sure all snacks are nut free.
Insert panic mode here.
Now let me explain myself. John and I have 3 children that have zero food or environmental allergies. Wyatt went through a stage where we thought he may have a gluten allergy, so I switched the entire house to gluten free. It was a huge challenge reading nutrition labels, creating meal plans, and a HUGE hit to our grocery bill. After a month of this experience and no results, I was so thankful that we were able to head back to our normal routine.
You see allergies scare me to death. I'm afraid that while your child is in my care they will have an extreme allergic reaction, go into anaphylactic shock, and, well you know the rest. I go to that place immediately when I'm around anyone with an allergy.
So when that allergy warning comes out, I panic. I worry that I - the uneducated parent on allergies and how to respond in a crisis, the one who will unknowingly donate Oreos that have some secret hidden seafood ingredient in them, will cause you to turn purple and keel over.
I have friends and family that have allergies, lots in fact. You would think that this would make my anxiety and extreme thinking lower in these situations. News flash - not at all. I even watched a friends kids that have allergies overnight. She had labeled all the medications and calmly explained what each one was for, when to take them, what to do in an emergency. I listened to her instructions so carefully that I could've repeated them verbatim. I had complete confidence that I had the situation under control and a handle on everything. I was prepared and ready to handle any emergency if it arose. Then she walked out the door and took my confidence with her.
I remember when Abby was playing soccer we had to bring a snack for after games and practice. One of the moms mentioned they were gluten free and she was talking to her friends about what they could and couldn't eat. I shuffled over and inserted myself into their conversation in order to learn more. Was I supposed to bring a gluten free snack? Would that kid be hunched over gripping their stomach because I had supplied a snack completely packed with something I knew nothing about? As I asked her questions, she turned up her nose and glared at me like I was an outcast. I left that day feeling foolish and even more confused of my future snack choices.
If you have an allergy, or a health condition that people should know about, please do me one favor - tell people. Don't act like it is an inconvenience for people, don't brush it off like it's no big deal - tell people. Educate people until you're purple in the face. Tell people what will happen if you eat seafood or grapes, if a cat makes a bed in your jacket, or you get stung by a bee when you're out on a bike ride.
Listen, I know sometimes telling people is annoying. People don't listen, you've told them 10,000 times, you just don't want to be a bother, or think you can just tell your kid to be careful. Here's the deal though - if something happens to you, people are at least going to know that you need an epi pen, a shot of insulin, a hard candy, an aspirin, CPR, or whatever it takes to get YOU back. Give us a chance, a little faith, and a whole bunch of knowledge on you. Because last time I checked, nobody knows you better than you, and nobody can educate others on you like you can.
Be confident in writing your name on that sign up sheet!
until next time...
Sara
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