RAWR

Squirt does not eat gluten. She has always shown subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) signs of an sensitivity, so she just does not eat it right now - a decision with which her pediatrician agrees. My husband and I already take serious offense to that nasty little protein (unless properly fermented in a tasty craft beer or crusty sourdough), following a mostly Primal, sometimes paleo diet, so we had no problems tailoring Squirt's diet accordingly. We have eaten this way for so long (sans gluten) and have anesthetized ourselves to the guffaws of others, so I had almost forgotten how isolating it can sometimes be. Today, I was reminded.

Today, Squirt's daycare hosted a special Valentine snack for the babies and their parents. This "special" snack was a warm, flaky crossoint with cream cheese and strawberry goo to smear on top. They forgot that my girl couldn't eat it (and weren't terribly apologetic, I might add). I know it shouldn't have, but this little oversight really bothered me. If it were just any snack, I wouldn't have thought anything of it, but they had been playing it up for over a week - "come to our Valentine snack," "don't forget the snack on Valentine's Day" - and then completely forgot my daughter's dietary restriction. So she didn't get her "special" snack. Since it was technically snack time, they mixed some of the strawberry goo in with some Rice Krispies for her - something they give her most days. Nothing special.

I fully realize I'm being a bit overly sensitive to this, but it broke my heart to see my little girl picking the little lumps of strawberry out of the cereal while the other babies ate cream cheese pastries. If she doesn't outgrow this sensitivity, this is how it's always going to be. She won't be able to eat the birthday cake at the party or the pizza at the sleep over... While I don't want her eating this garbage every day of the week, I don't want her to feel segregated because she can't at all. Growing up, fitting in, and finding friends is already hard enough... But, as a skeptical friend pointed out, children will always find ways of singling each other out and making fun of each other. But, I now realize, they also sometimes surprise us with their compassion and acceptance. Which group would I rather have Squirt find herself in? I guess the best thing we can do is teach her to stick up for herself and be proud of who she is while being comassionate towards other different children.

But today isn't all bad. It's her first Valentine's Day, after all! And, boy, has she been in a fabulous mood! Last night daddy and I gave her a special present - a dinosaur walker/scooter. She was so excited as we took it out of the box and assembled it, but it was too late in the day and she was ready for bed. This morning while I was getting ready for the day, she was motoring around everywhere with it! While, for selfish reasons, I'm not sure I should be encouraging her to walk more, she absolutely loved being able to zip through the house and terrorize the cats (who lately deserve a little more terror in their lives, if you ask me).

RAWR (it means "I love you" in dinosaur - Happy Valentine's Day)!