My daughter was barely four years old when she had to undergo both an endoscopy and a colonoscopy, whereafter it was pronounced that she was “gluten intolerant.” I remember asking the doctor if it was Celiac’s and she replied it was too early to tell. She said our child *might* outgrow it by the age of twelve. Our girl is now ten and the little thing has been sneaking gluten (wheat) for quite some time now. I think it all started when she was a flower girl at her cousin’s wedding. I love the way my mother-in-law joked she ate “32 egg salad sandwiches” at a pre-wedding shower. Honestly, I am not sure how far off that was from the truth!!! We were told the bread was gluten-free but my mother-in-law knew better. I was so dumb I believed them. My MIL just sat back and watched, proclaiming my child would either “drop dead” or be fine. Next her daddy starting allowing her “bites” of his food covered in flour, unbeknownst to me. Then I find out my little one is trading her food at school like some kind of professional card sharp. I found myself saying things like, “How do you know what that tastes like?” and receiving some cryptic, mumbled response. During this past spring break we met a lovely couple of over twenty years and he offered our girl a (fried) “chicken finger.” I told them she had never “officially” had gluten and I was incredibly relieved when I discovered his husband was a doctor. Our girl had absolutely no side effects and my husband and I decided she could SLOWLY begin to implement “gluten” (wheat) into her diet. Each day (which I thought was too fast) we’d introduce her to something new. “DOUGHNUTS!” she’d shout. The next day “QUESADILLAS!” For those of you at home complaining about dietary restrictions, imagine a little girl in Kindergarten all the way through the fourth grade asking to leave birthday parties early because she knew she could not have cake, or pizza, or even ice cream. While I may be celebrating our daughter’s newfound ability to eat wheat, I know many out there struggle with food allergies. I cannot eat cinnamon or seafood. Some people are deathly allergic to various foods. The ancient Greek playwright Euripides once wrote, “When a man’s stomach is full it makes no difference whether he is rich or poor.” Let us all remember those around the world who are suffering from malnutrition and starvation, and pray earnestly for them. Gratitude is an attitude and I always try to acknowledge it. I know my little one is … she keeps hollering “let’s eat!”
