Day 60: What are we teaching?

What have you learned today?

I don't have to point out that there has been a lot of press about gluten free eating these days. Much of it is educational, some of it is misinformed, and some is just hostile.

From a Disney Channel show that makes fun of a gluten-free kid (a show that fortunately was pulled) to a more recent late night comedy sketch that mocked a gluten-free character, there is a lot of hostility and denial that Celiac Disease and gluten sensitivity exist.

I first got sick at a dinner party. It was hugely embarrassing for me, and I'm sure for the hostess as well. The next seven years found me bouncing around from doctor to doctor in search of a reason for my mystery illness. I dropped down to the high 80's (my weight, that is--though that's actually a pretty good bowling score for me). I never wanted to go out with friends because I was pretty sure my "stomach virus" would show up halfway through the evening.

I've had people say to me "Oh, gluten-free. That just means you get a rash, right?" To which I reply: "I wish." I know I have it better than many and worse than many, but it's a daily reality for us all in some manner.

If it wasn't such an in-your-face, every day kind of thing, I might tend to believe the media. Gluten sensitivity: what's the big deal? Isn't that basically just indigestion? Add to that the fact that many celebrities are treating it like a fad diet and it seems perfect fodder for comedic mocking.

But we know better, and what are we teaching with our words?

The other day, someone made me a special pie and the first thing I said is "you didn't have to do that!"

Okay, technically, they didn't HAVE to. It was a pie. I wouldn't have starved without it. But the act of caring enough to make the pie cancelled out a lot of misinformation. It was a huge step toward compassion and understanding.

Lesson one: choose my words carefully. Don't undermine the gift. Be incredibly grateful and just say thank you.

Lesson two: find friends who make good gluten free pie. Not only will you have delicious pie, but you will also have a friend with a kind and sensitive heart.