Living with a food allergy can be difficult, but travelling with a food allergy can seem downright impossible! Parents of children with allergies often have to worry about a multitude of scenarios when travelling, whether it is lack of options, contamination, or - more generally - ignorance of staff.
When our family travelled to Walt Disney World earlier this month, we were worried about the same things. As a family with many dietary restrictions, we were concerned that we’d have a hard time managing it. We were wonderfully wrong!
When you become a mom, there’s one thing you realize very quickly: nothing is for certain. You cannot be sure about anything, because everything becomes dependent on your children and their needs. It takes some getting used to, but eventually you stop fighting the battle and realize that’s just the way life will be for the foreseeable future.
Except... there are always exceptions.
And these exceptions are the 3 Universal Truths of Motherhood, and are what I know for sure:
Do you ever think about what could have been? I find myself doing just that every once and a while.
Especially this time of year.
I had a miscarriage almost four years ago. My child would have turned three this month.
When my oldest daughter rushes back to school, the air becomes a little crisp, and the leaves start to change, my mind begins to wander back to what could have been.
As a minority living in Canada, I have some insight into what it is like to be marginalized in society. I am not an expert on the topic nor am I the best example of it, but I can say I have some understanding of it.
That being said, I’m also a parent and in recent years, one of the most stylish design ideas for children has been the teepee. They are undeniably trendy right now.
The only problem is that some First Nations are seeing them as an example of cultural appropriation and aren’t happy with it.
If you know me, you know I love summer. I really do. I live for these rare few months (weeks) (days) of hot weather.
I know I'm not the only one. Most people love summer. Everyone smiles a bit brighter and laughs a little louder during this time of year. It’s the extra vitamin D, I think.
Summer is the golden child, the eternal favourite who can do no wrong.
But....(yes, there's always a but!)
There are parts of summer that are less than ideal. Downright miserable, in fact. Miserable enough to warrant a rant.
A parent’s job is never done. And yet, I cannot help but try to get everything done. I bet you’re the same way.
Laundry piling up? Let’s get it done. So I (and likely, you) huff and puff to get it done until there’s not one single dirty item of clothingin the house. For exactly 43.8 seconds.
Not even one minute of respite from dirty clothing.
I can get along with almost everyone. I’m pretty easy-going like that.
But.
(There’s always a but, isn’t there?)
But there are certain types of people I just don’t understand.
It doesn’t mean I can’t get along with you. It just means that much like calculus, I just don’t understand you.
You know who I don’t understand? Well, truth be told, lots of people. But I’ll stick to the ten to come to my mind first. So here goes, in no particular order:
Yes, I do. I admit to occasionally looking at my husband’s phone.
Usually it’ll be right after he’s looked at it and laughed.
What? I want to know what’s so funny, too.
Unfortunately, I’m sorely disappointed most of the time. His funny is not my funny. His funny is a mix of Ridiculousness and Jackass. Basically, he’s a fourteen year old boy.
There’s a lot I miss about the innocence of my youth. I miss it for myself and I miss it for the sake of my children. It makes me sad that they will never quite understand the wonder of Jem, teased bangs and neon t-shirts, video stores on a Friday night. All that makes me nostalgic and long for those years that seem so distant past.
