Small changes are happening everywhere!

Every day I am amazed at the changes in the allergy world. There are constant reports on how studies continue to grow, how education on food allergies continue to spread, and the education on how to possibly “avoid catching” food allergies amazes me to no end. With that said, I want to share a moment with you that brought me to tears. While that doesn’t tend to take much, sometimes a sappy commercial, a sad song, but this time, it was the ongoing progress in the allergy world that brought the tears to my eyes. As I have mentioned before, I live in a small rural community. And, while most times that I say this I mean it as a blessing and as a compliment, living in a small town can be somewhat scary when it comes to the lack of progress towards what is happening in the world around us. Meaning, we tend to be years, if not centuries behind and this is why most of us stay in these areas…great to raise families. However, when it comes to allergies or any up to the date sort of medical understanding…we tend to be the same years if not centuries behind. This can and is very scary when it comes to managing your child’s allergies. It is downright scary most days…for the fear of exposure and the ongoing mommy duties of educating all around without looking as if you have two heads or if you are judging others. I say ALL of this only to share my tearful experience during a local elementary school carnival.  This is one of the small town school carnivals utilized to raise money for the teachers and students in which you tend to know what to expect. I usually dread this every year, for I want to take my son, whom is allergic to many things, but severely to peanuts, to this to see his peers and I also want to support our community as much as possible. But, there is that every day fear you have as a parent dealing with food allergies, of what your child may or may not be exposed to in an unpredictable situation as this. With that said, my tears came the moment I walked into the doors and read “Peanut Oil Used for Popcorn”. This seems too simple, silly, and may not be noticed by most, but to my family…it was an instant “stop in your tracks” sort of situation in which my husband and I just looked at each other. While the chaos of the carnival continued around us and we continued to chase after our two small children down the halls, I found myself tearing up. This is so big in our world, as many of you may relate. While it doesn’t solve allergies, it doesn’t cure your child….what it does do is show that there are so many changes happening even in our small towns. Changes that allow parents dealing with food allergies to feel as our voices are being heard, are concerns of not knowing what we are walking into are being addressed, our constant fears of not knowing what to know…well, it’s one step further in our need to have understanding, comprehension, and respect. Thank you…