The fanatical adherence called for by the Specific Carbohydrate Diet overwhelms me at times.  It is easier to stay home and prepare your own meals.  However now that we are almost five months into the protocol, it is becoming difficult to turn down invitations to people’s homes, parties, etc.  Our family was not meant to be hermits.

Jake was recently invited to a birthday party.  We allowed him to go while reminding him to stick to the diet.  I felt bad because it was a last minute invite and I did not have time to fix him an almond butter brownie to eat instead of birthday cake.  I told him that he could come home and make a smoothie after the party.

When I picked him up from the party, he was all smiles.  I asked him if he had fun, which was really a silly question.  What 10-year old boy does not have fun with his friends?  He excitedly told me how the grandfather of the birthday boy had made a burger patty just for Jake as well as grilled him an entire link of sausage (without sugar or starch).  Jake said it made him feel special.  It was a very sweet thing to do.

That very same night, my dad invited us to go to a local restaurant for dinner.  We really wanted to go.  We had been working so hard all day long and did not feel like preparing our dinner.  But what could we possibly order?  The only sides they offer were potatoes.  French fries, mashed potatoes, or baked potatoes are the choices.

I called the restaurant and explained our dietary restrictions.  The waitress went back to check their refrigerator to see if they had any fresh vegetables.  She offered to make fresh broccoli for our family.  I whipped up some homemade salad dressing and we all got dressed for dinner.  We ordered plain steaks and the little boys ordered plain hamburger patties with, of course, broccoli.  We fixed our own salads from the salad bar.  I was touched by how accommodating the restaurant was.  And, it was a great dinner.

Some friends of ours invited us over to their home after church.  Our hostess had painstakingly read all the ingredients on all of her food labels and devised a healthy and legal menu for us.  It too was delicious.

On other social events, we have advised our hosts to not worry about our dietary needs.  I realize that it is difficult to wrap your head around all of the legal/illegal items.  We have just prepared our own food and gone.  We eat with everyone else, but it is usually very different foods.

It means so much to our family to be included in the meal.  To not feel deprived or tempted by other foods.  To be a full participant in the social occasion.  We really appreciate the kindness shown by these accommodating hosts and hostesses.  Thank you for making us feel special and loved.

When anyone goes out of their way to accommodate you, it is a sign of love.  Whether it is helping you fix a flat tire on the side of the road or simply preparing you a meal that you can enjoy, it ties stronger bonds of friendship.  I know that we will not be eating this way forever.  I hope and pray that this diet works.  But, I also hope to be on the other side of this equation.  I have learned even more how important it is to accommodate others.  It is an action that speaks louder than words.

Tags: accommodating, hosts and hostesses, SCD, Specific Carbohydrate Diet

This entry was posted on Friday, August 26th, 2011 at 9:32 am and is filed under Food Allergies, Homesteading. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.