Where's the Gluten? or A Touch of Serendipity

I was supposed to go on a field trip today with the lower school. We were headed to a bilingual theater performance in Washington, DC. After we returned, I was going to broadcast the dvd of my 4th graders' news program, which they had been working on over the past couple of weeks. I burned the dvd yesterday right before I left school. This morning, before going on the field trip, I tested out the dvd, and it had a problem. The sound wasn't tracking with the movements. So I had to re-save it from windows movie maker in a different format, and reburn the dvd. All of which was going to take more time than the 20 minutes I had before the busses left on the field trip.

My boss said it was okay, there were enough teachers on the trip, just go ahead and work on the broadcast. So I got the problem fixed, and had just finished burning the last of the dvds to give to the kids when my cell phone rang.

It was Daniel's school nurse, calling to let me know that he had just lost his lunch and had terrible stomach pains.

If I had gone on the field trip, I wouldn't have been able to rush out of school to go get Daniel. I would have been stuck downtown, waiting for the school bus to take me back. Frustrated as I was with the dvd this morning, I was so happy that it kept me close to my car!

Daniel thought he was glutened somehow, because he threw up right after eating lunch. But everything in his lunch was packed by me, and it was leftovers of stuff that he had before. Baked beans and rice. Gluten free corn chips. A kiwi. A choco-loco bar (GF). He said he started feeling really sick when he was eating the kiwi, and that he didn't want kiwis in his lunch anymore.

I wondered if he was suddenly allergic to kiwi. Or if there was gluten on the table, and it got on his hands, and in his mouth when he ate the kiwi. He said that he and his friends were throwing around some Easter candy. Sometimes candy has gluten on it to keep it from sticking. Maybe that was the case. Anyway, we can't figure out where the gluten came from, if it was gluten. It could have been a stomach bug. After going low, having sugar, rebounding high, and taking pepto bismol, he's on the mend now.

He can make up that major test that he missed tomorrow.

Man Proposes and God Disposes

You can say, "man plans and God laughs," or "from your mouth to God's ears," or any variation on a theme. Last year's resolution was to SIMPLIFY. Of course, that didn't happen this year.

However, diabetes & celiac in our family has certainly caused me to organize. I believe it is true that one way to simplify life is to bring order to the chaos. To "simpliforganize." Organimplify? Anyway, I think I did the best I could, under the circumstances.

This year I may go back to the standard resolutions: lose a few pounds. Take time for myself to exercise more often. Write more. Express my constant gratitude for family, friends, love.

Scheduling time for writing and doing it consistently has been a resolution for years. Funny how this year I have used writing to organize my mind and help me find my way. The consistency was born of necessity. By doing so I have "met" the most amazing people online, the wonderful diabetes OC, celiac gurus, active yoginis, and astonishingly creative photographers. Whereas in everyday life I might overhear someone's conversation at a subway stop or a restaurant and think, "wow, what a great observation on life!" I would never intrude on that person's conversation. How rude! But online I can read observations, enjoy other people's photography or videos, follow conversations. I can add my own comment, give another viewpoint, concur with the author, praise a poem or a picture. Let someone know, "I like what you said. I'm listening."

Okay, I lied in the middle of the last paragraph. I might intrude on someone's conversation. I was at a Starbucks in Connecticut a few days ago with my sister in law & niece. I was waiting to pick up our drinks when I overheard another customer talking to the barrista about staying away from wheat, and how it was making her well. But how hard it was during Christmas, and how she had trouble getting any baked goods to taste good.

Yeah, I jumped right in. Talked about celiac, about different flours, and xanthan gum. Bob's Red Mill, Pamela's mixes, and the importance of staying gluten free. About the pile of gluten free cookies & biscotti I baked for Daniel. Failures & successes in baking. We talked for a little while, and then she thanked me so much for taking the time. Most people, she said, don't talk to people they don't know, and our little conversation really helped her. She laughed and said that she would start going totally gluten free, but she was going to cheat up until her birthday, January 23. "No way," I said, "that's my birthday!"

Just one of those things, you know? Got a little shiver. She thanked me and thanked me. Just as I thank you and thank you, all you many people out there who are listening, commenting, agreeing or arguing. Thanks for sharing this corner of the world, letting me vent or praise, answering my questions and giving me strength. Thanks for all these serendipitous electronic bitch sessions. A happy & healthy new year to you all.