Snacks Anyone?

Let's just get this out of the way before you begin reading today: I am not a heartless hag. There.

Now that I've totally disclaimed what I'm about to write, just remember it.

Today, the "snack bucket" came home from a certain four-year-old's Preschool. Unlike some people I know who LOATHE their week of taking care of snacks for the under-45-inch set, I actually love being the snack Mom. It gives me a chance to go to Costco and spend my weight in cash on snack products, something I don't normally do.

If you add the fact that next week I am ALSO snack Mom for the teacher's lounge at another son's school, I am in snack-buying Heaven.*

An unusual addition to the bucket was a handwritten note. Since I knew, from young-son's story on Thursday, that one of his friends was moving back to India, I figured the snack requirements had dropped by a factor of one and the teacher was letting me know.

But, no.

Instead, I find a note that says this "We have a new student starting Monday with a peanut allergy. Please send peanut-free snacks. Thanks! Sweet Teacher"

You.have.got.to.be.kidding.me.

My snack buying duties have now become a complete, utter, painful event. I'm used to cruising the labels for all the junk that would make my family puke, become hive-ridden, develop migraines or hyper to the point of no return. Now I have to add everything PEANUT to the mix?

When my older son was attending school and had aversions to everything that even sounded like a dairy product, I faithfully sent a separate snack for him every day. When it came my turn to send the snacks, the kids would get non-dairy treats.

Last year, a friend in Preschool had SEVERE allergies: eggs, peanuts, dairy. His Mom? Separate snacks, all year long. Bucket time? Supplied what she could for her son and the rest of the snacks catered to the kids who weren't riddled with these gosh-awful sensitivities.

I just wonder how, as a society, this generation of peanut-allergy-ridden kids are ever going to survive once they leave the comfort of their parent's homes?! Frankly, I'm shocked the collective minds in Washington haven't banned peanuts from airplanes yet.

I'm terribly sorry people deal with this issue, but we all have to learn to play the cards we've been dealt at some point in our lives. Inconveniencing everyone around us is NOT the answer.

At least that is what I've taught all three of my children, who have added grandly to the number of allergy-suffering children in this world. Between them we have dairy, beef, chicken, wheat, apple, and sugar** aversions.***

When they venture out in the world, they are responsible for telling the adults around them about their allergies**** and avoiding things which make them react. If they don't? The blame rests squarely on THEIR shoulders, not their playmate's Moms.

Maybe I would feel differently about this if my little princes needed epinephrine every time they inhaled an offending food.

Then again. Probably not.

Editor's Note: After I pulled on my hair, gnashed my teeth, and got over this issue, I called the teacher to see how severe an allergy this is. Turns out, we're trying to desensitize this child. This is just a precaution....


*And may actually spend Mike's weight in cash for this trip. Which, sigh, wouldn't be that much more than mine right now. Happy, happy, joy, joy.

**Yes, sugar. Didn't know you could be allergic to sugar, did you? Well. You can.

***No. I don't have fun cooking anymore, thank you. Hence the reason I find, er FOUND, snack duty so much fun.

****I STILL need to apologize to my entire block of neighbors for the first Halloween when non-dairy boy decided to reject treats if he was allergic and, panicked, empathetic neighbors threw wads of cash into his bag. We put the kibosh on that as soon as we figured it out.