Another day...

So...I was just reflecting on the days where my husband and I (and even Brian from time to time) would enjoy peanut butter. It was affordable, somewhat healthy and tasty. Each morning I would enjoy a nice cup of coffee with peanut butter on toast.

The day Brian had his reaction drastically, and understandably I assume, changed my feelings on my old friend "peanut butter." It was no longer a pleasant memory but a painful one. Seeing what my son went through scared me enough to never eat that monster again. And I haven't. I don't think I'll ever eat peanut butter again, even if Brian one day grows out of his allergy.

It's sad, yet somewhat understandable that it's so commonly consumed in our society. Not just peanut butter, but peanuts and other nuts as well. I can't say I was ever a fan of the actual peanuts, but i did enjoy almonds. Since discovering Brian's allergy, the allergist warned us to stay away from all nuts, and treat Brian like he's allergic to those as well, since other nuts often have traces of peanuts.
On Mothers Day we went down to a popular park that has a nice peir, picnic area and toddler playground and water park. We went for our friends birthday...and I was frustrated by the carelessness of some individuals. We decided to take Brian onto the "sunny part" of the picnic area we were in so he could run around on the grass. Once we got there, there was a huge open bag of raw peanuts...and the people eating them left the shells all over the grass. Very careless.

So unfortunately we weren't able to let Brian run around in that area due to the closeness of the peanuts and them being scattered around. I really just wanted to yell at the people and ask what they were thinking...but then I realized..."they're NOT thinking" and why would they? They're not effected by peanuts the way our family is. Therefore they don't understand the severity of those actions.

To all of you reading this, if you ever eat peanuts in a playground, PLEASE be aware that there may be children with life threatening allergies. And not all these children understand the consequence of peanuts, so help them but not eating them, or leaving shells laying around.

This week is "Food Allergy Awareness Week"...help those with food allergies, especially the severe kind, and be thoughtful and mindful when you're around them. Wash your hands thoroughly, not just run under water or a quick wipe, and beware of what's on your lips if you kiss them...