A real kid with a real sandwich

[Guest guest]

Today we went on our annual river outing with our school group and I dutifully packed up the usual cheese, crackers, and lunchmeat to snack on. We had a cloudy but fun afternoon, and when everyone opened their sandwiches from the local deli, I pulled out our home-packed lunch.

As we were leaving, Merrick looked sad and mentioned that he wished he could have a sandwich from the deli like his friends had. He wondered if there was any chance of getting a gluten-free sandwich at New Leaf (our local health-food store). He seemed pretty down-in-the-mouth about it, and I couldn’t give him much encouragement about our chances for a deli sandwich, but I said we could ask.

We trouped up to the deli counter and asked about a gluten-free sandwich; they told us that sometimes people bring their own bread, and they could wipe down the knife and counter, but didn’t have a dedicated space for gluten-free preparation. In a moment of inspiration, I grabbed a bag of Udi’s bread from the bread section and asked if we could use it. They said sure. So (after I asked 20 questions about ingredients) Merrick ordered up a roast beef sandwich with cheese, and, gritting my teeth and trying not to think too hard about all of the possible cross contamination vectors, I instructed the preparer to put the bread on a piece of paper, heat the bread up in the microwave on the paper, and use the same paper to prepare the sandwich on. They took 50 cents off for the bread (because of the small slices, we had them use 4 pieces of bread for the same portions of meat and cheese as a regular sandwich), and Merrick happily walked out with his sandwich.

As we got in the car to head home, he said, only half joking, “Now I feel like a real kid with a real sandwich!” Merrick thoroughly enjoyed the sandwich (I had a taste: it was delicious). This was a good lesson for me on two counts. First, to search out new opportunities and not to just accept the status quo (he’s been getting tired of tacos). Second, that I am so used to my kids’ acceptance of the diet, sometimes I forget that they are different, and Merrick at 13 cares much more than Bryce did at that age about being like his peers. I am glad that Merrick managed to get his gluten-free sandwich and eat it too!

Pam Newbury

[Guest guest]

Pam,

Thanks for the story. A great reminder about the challenges of fitting in and the little bit of extra effort it could take to tackle the issue.

Best,

From: Pam Newbury <pknewbury@...> Sent: Fri, May 28, 2010 5:30:47 PMSubject: [ ] A real kid with a real sandwich

Today we went on our annual river outing with our school group and I dutifully packed up the usual cheese, crackers, and lunchmeat to snack on. We had a cloudy but fun afternoon, and when everyone opened their sandwiches from the local deli, I pulled out our home-packed lunch.

As we were leaving, Merrick looked sad and mentioned that he wished he could have a sandwich from the deli like his friends had. He wondered if there was any chance of getting a gluten-free sandwich at New Leaf (our local health-food store). He seemed pretty down-in-the- mouth about it, and I couldn’t give him much encouragement about our chances for a

deli sandwich, but I said we could ask.

We trouped up to the deli counter and asked about a gluten-free sandwich; they told us that sometimes people bring their own bread, and they could wipe down the knife and counter, but didn’t have a dedicated space for gluten-free preparation. In a moment of inspiration, I grabbed a bag of Udi’s bread from the bread section and asked if we could use it. They said sure. So (after I asked 20 questions about ingredients) Merrick ordered up a roast beef sandwich with cheese, and, gritting my teeth and trying not to think too hard about all of the possible cross contamination vectors, I instructed the preparer to put the bread on a piece of paper, heat the bread up in the microwave on the paper, and use the same paper to prepare the sandwich

on. They took 50 cents off for the bread (because of the small slices, we had them use 4 pieces of bread for the same portions of meat and cheese as a regular sandwich), and Merrick happily walked out with his sandwich.

As we got in the car to head home, he said, only half joking, “Now I feel like a real kid with a real sandwich!†Merrick thoroughly enjoyed the sandwich (I had a taste: it was delicious). This was a good lesson for me on two counts. First, to search out new opportunities and not to just

accept the status quo (he’s been getting tired of tacos). Second, that I am so used to my kids’ acceptance of the diet, sometimes I forget that they are different, and Merrick at 13 cares much more than Bryce did at that age about being like his peers. I am glad that Merrick managed to get his gluten-free sandwich and eat it too!

Pam Newbury