Souvenirs

We took a family vacation this summer to Hershey, PA, and during our travels, we enjoyed two days at Hershey Park.  All things chocolate and candy 🍫 – yum!  (As a side note, we were very pleasantly surprised with Hershey Park and its surroundings!  I was expecting a smaller park with maybe a few small roller coasters, but no, this was most impressive!  15+ roller coasters, a water park integrated into the park, virtually no lines (locally they were not out of school yet!), fast food chains in the park . . . . I’d highly recommend it for a family vacation if you’re up in that neck of the woods!)  But I digress . . . . 😉

On the second day, we let the boys pick their souvenirs from the park to remember that part of the trip.  And what did Brandon gravitate to?  THIS!!  A t-shirt emblazoned with a food that has been a lifetime nemesis for him!  I’ll be honest, it was all I could do not to ugly cry for him right there in the park! 

To this food allergy mom, this selection of souvenir – entirely on HIS part – meant so many different things.

• Acknowledgement of what he’s actually going through – making a safer life for himself through OIT.
• Humor – the ability to make people smile with a shirt that kind of said, “Ha!  Take that!  I’m not only going to eat you now, I’m also going to advertise for you!”
• And I think the biggest of all is Confidence.  Kids with food allergies live in constant apprehension around food and in a state of hyper-vigilance.  They are watching what’s going on around them all.the.time.  They may not express it verbally, but gosh, those little minds are going a million miles a minute, watching what others are eating, avoiding situations that make them uncomfortable, worrying about what they might touch/ingest/accidentally come into contact with.  It’s tiring to be a parent of a food allergy kid, but I can only imagine that it’s absolutely mentally exhausting to be the one with the allergy, especially in what should be the carefree days of childhood.  So to see a child who once lived in fear now express himself in this way, by wearing a shirt that shouts from the rooftops of his new-found freedom . . . . yeah, that was a pretty cool moment for him. 😊

It’s the intangibles like these that are the icing on the cake during OIT, my friends.  Yes, we’re helping him live a safer and less worried life, but the confidence he’s gaining in the process?  Yeah, that’s worth more than a cart FULL of Reese’s peanut butter cups!  😉

Until next time,

Momma Knows Best ~MKB 🐢💚