Sunday, October 28, 2012

The Holidays are Coming!

November is just a few days away and per usual for this time of year, I find myself really excited. I've already started planning the Thanksgiving dinner menu as well as the sweet treats that I will be making. While planning all of this, I was reminded that the holidays were not always this way for me. When I was a kid I absolutely loved this time of year. 

The year I turned 15 I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease after being sick and miserable for months. My diagnosis happened in the beginning of November. At this time most people had no idea what Celiac Disease and a gluten free diet was, including me. I remember leaving the meeting with the dietitian, who honestly didn't know any more about the gluten free diet than I did, thinking I was doomed. Thankfully, the internet had the resources I needed to get on track with this diet. Unfortunately, the holidays were so close that my family did not have the opportunity to learn about how to make sure the things they cooked were gluten free. That year, I had one dessert I could eat, simply because it was gluten free to begin with and dinner was basically meat and vegetables. That was the first year that I wanted to just cry on Thanksgiving and Christmas. 

By the next year, I had learned a ton on how to cook gluten free and so had my family. My Grammy made a gluten free chocolate cake, and I was so excited. One thing everyone knows about me is that I love chocolate. I remember her saying "it's not too pretty, so I hope it tastes good", and it did. The truth is that cake could have been terrible, and I wouldn't have said a word. I was so happy too see a dessert that I could eat too. From that year on, the holidays were the way the used to be..happy. Every year they get better and better as I come up with new and better ways to cook things and new recipes. 

This year is looking to be the best year yet, and I can't wait. If there is any lesson to be learned from this, it's that even though it may be a ways off, there is always a light at the end of the tunnel.