I’m Letting Down My Fellow Mothers Of Allergic Kids
Last week I went to Back to School Night at my daughter’s school. I can not possibly express how pleased I am with this school. And I love the other parents I’ve met thus far. They’re smart, they’re nice, they’ve got their act together. It’s a nice crowd. The teacher has great command over the classroom for her young age. As she led us through a manual for parents she’d written up, the topic of nut allergies came up. I’m not sure I handled it well.
My daughter has a serious tree nut allergy. She’s deathly allergic to walnuts, pecans and filberts. And the other nuts also could cause serious problems. She even has a mild peanut allergy. Another girl in the class has a peanut allergy. We were talking about how the school doesn’t have a “no nuts” policy or something and I chimed in that I was very supportive of this. I hate that my daughter has this nut allergy but I don’t think that it means everyone in her path should have to alter their lives. We’ve pounded this “no nut” thing into her head daily for years now and we’ve sent the Epi-pens to school and all that. Sure, sometimes I want her to live in a bubble, but it doesn’t seem fair.
Anyway, after I went off on this tirade, I realized I’d Mommyjacked the conversation. What if the other mother of an allergic kid there was hoping for a no-nuts policy? Is there some sort of solidarity pact we’re supposed to form? How do I learn these things? I don’t want to let down my fellow parents of allergic kids.