Confession Time: #allergiessuck
I consider myself a very positive person, always looking for the silver lining, always smiling, counting my blessings. However, sometimes...I just get frustrated! Being a mom is hard work, most of us feel like we are messing up all the time. Being an allergy mom? Just sucks. (Hence the hashtag...Search that on twitter, there will be tweets from me.) There, I said it, I said the thing most moms with special needs children are thinking. Don't get me wrong...I love my son, I love my life, and all that jazz that must follow saying something is no good. I once told a friend of mine (who has a son with autism) that I am thankful God picked me (and him) to parent our children. Because we love them and will do all we can to do what is right by them. So you may ask what prompted this post? Snacks.
We are active members of our church, so we are there a lot and my allergy boy is in the nursery. Guess what mom did last week? Forgot to pack a snack... With allergy kids, you have to think ahead all the time. Plan ahead for everything. So as the nursery kids are munching on their goldfish, my poor baby is driving the nursery worker crazy because he has no snack. Let's also not forget the Sunday someone had a donut... Have you ever tried to tell a 2 year old he can't have a donut? It is tough to say the least. Poor boy doesn't understand "it will make you sick", he thinks he is in trouble. I could give instance after instance of things like this. And it is just heart breaking, tiring, and frustrating.
I try to not complain, to keep my chin up, to be positive and plan ahead; but sometimes, you just need to get it out. Just need to tell someone (or the internet) that it is a struggle. However, I'm from the school of "get over it". Compassion is not my strong suite in certain aspects. I'm that way with my kids, my friends, and of course myself.
So since I confessed my annoyance of being an allergy mom, I'm going to tell you my tricks to getting over it.
One of my favorite passages of scripture says this:
"But He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties, for when I am weak then I am strong." (2 Corinthians 12: 9-10)
So that is why I allow myself a moment of frustration and confession. I know in the end, all will be well, he will get over it, I will survive and most importantly, I can stand and say thank you Lord for your blessings on me.
We are active members of our church, so we are there a lot and my allergy boy is in the nursery. Guess what mom did last week? Forgot to pack a snack... With allergy kids, you have to think ahead all the time. Plan ahead for everything. So as the nursery kids are munching on their goldfish, my poor baby is driving the nursery worker crazy because he has no snack. Let's also not forget the Sunday someone had a donut... Have you ever tried to tell a 2 year old he can't have a donut? It is tough to say the least. Poor boy doesn't understand "it will make you sick", he thinks he is in trouble. I could give instance after instance of things like this. And it is just heart breaking, tiring, and frustrating.
I try to not complain, to keep my chin up, to be positive and plan ahead; but sometimes, you just need to get it out. Just need to tell someone (or the internet) that it is a struggle. However, I'm from the school of "get over it". Compassion is not my strong suite in certain aspects. I'm that way with my kids, my friends, and of course myself.
So since I confessed my annoyance of being an allergy mom, I'm going to tell you my tricks to getting over it.
- Plan Ahead- This is HUGE. I'm a meal planner (when things are going right). I plan for the week and stick to it. I make a list and buy what is on the list to get us through the week. That includes meals and snacks!
- Know your snacks - I learned what he likes to snack on, what his favorites are, where to get those things. I'm cautious of off-brand foods. Some of the same foods have different ingredients if manufactured by another company. Some of our go to snacks?
- Applesauce To Go - Squeezy packages of nutrition? Yes please!
- Oreo® Cookies - Hey...the kid can't have much, let him have his cookies!
- Pop-Tarts® - Strawberry, Blueberry, Brown Sugar Cinnamon - All loved by him. Maybe not the most nutritious thing but it has fruit right?
- Vienna Sausage - I know...sounds gross...but he loves them. They keep well.
- Lays® Potato Chips - Plain old chips...can get those anywhere!
- Keep stuff on hand - It is Wednesday, church night. Amazingly, I remembered to pack some snacks in the diaper bag. However, I plan to stop before church and get a box of something for church. We are there six hours a week (at least), they know us there. Makes sense to keep him something he can eat.
- Know your restaurants - Fast Food is just a part of life in our "busy" culture. I educate myself on allergy facts of the restaurants in our area. I can tell you quickly that if he is with us, Wendy's® isn't on the list. (Milk/Egg battered nuggets...)
One of my favorite passages of scripture says this:
"But He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties, for when I am weak then I am strong." (2 Corinthians 12: 9-10)
So that is why I allow myself a moment of frustration and confession. I know in the end, all will be well, he will get over it, I will survive and most importantly, I can stand and say thank you Lord for your blessings on me.
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