You’re doing the final
shopping for ______________(insert a Holiday here )and your
–mother—aunt—cousin-- calls and says “I’m making strudel for the holiday
dessert and I know that Johnny is allergic to nuts, but it really doesn’t taste
good without them, so I just wanted you to know.”
You hang up the phone
–and (circle one)
A. Scream B. Cry C.
Laugh D. Shake your head E. All of the above
All of the above is the correct
answer – and then you get the baking mix from the cupboard and read about how
to make a strudel.
This is a typical holiday conversation for a food allergic family. We’ve all
been there, and we all know what it feels like to NOT be able to make that
special family recipe for a holiday meal. Well--as Loretta famously told Ronny
in Moonstruck --“Snap out of it!”
This is our life.
And
this is especially true around holiday celebrations when ritual meals, steeped
in tradition, are the standard fare. Food allergies can cut us off those
traditions, memories—whatever you want to call those remembered moments from
our past-- and not allow us to make those dishes.
But we can’t make them. And neither can my mother or my Aunt
Sadie. Instead, I can make a menu that does not include allergens—and no
one will know the difference. I can ask Cousin Pesky to bring a green
salad—since that would be ‘easier’ for her—and ditch the strudel altogether. I
may feel a pinch at giving up a family tradition, but what really makes
the meal a tradition is that we gather our family and close friends to share
it. That part doesn’t change.
As parents
we must smooth the way for a happy holiday. People may mean well, but
don’t have as much practice at keeping our children safe—or people may not want
to change their habits. Whichever the case, your child will have a happy
and safe holiday because you –and possibly only you—make the effort to prepare
and bring a special meal or host a worry-free fete. That you must think
ahead, prepare, and possibly reorganize tradition—that is a given in
the food allergic household.
But, above all, we must
remember that --while the menu may need to change-- the message of these
holiday meals does not.
What we are eating should not be as important as who we
are eating it with— as well as the laughter and gusto we bring to the table—no
matter if it’s ravioli or rice cakes and jam.
The
love, the sharing, the connection are what truly matters and there is no
substitute for that.
Happy Thanksgiving!
