A New Way of Seeing a Situation

My quest for going 21 days without a complaint has been derailed numerous times since I set out on my brave journey a couple of weeks ago. The most recent setback was due to a note I got from my son's preschool teacher last week. It seems the fruit and cereal bars I've been sending in for his snack for the last several months have trace amounts of some kind of soy product which is in the nut family and there is a student in my son's class with a nut allergy. My first reaction was, "Come on, you've got to be kidding me." That was pretty much the same response offered by my husband.

You see, my son has "sensory issues" and is extremely picky about food. He only tolerates certain textures and tastes. He receives special education for Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy and Speech Therapy. It took us months to find a snack that he will actually eat. We were so pleased (as was his teacher) to have him happily devour something at snack time instead of picking at it and throwing it out. So I wondered who complained and took the time to read all the ingredients on my son's cereal bar. I thought, why can't the kid with the allergy eat in a separate room if he's that sensitive? Why make all the other kids suffer and force parents to be diligently reading all the ingredients on every box of food and trying to figure out what could cause an allergic reaction in someone else's kid?

I knew this was not the energy I wanted to be sending out to the universe, but I was so upset about my own situation, I didn't see it through the other parents' eyes. It must be difficult worrying about your child coming into contact with something that could be lethal to him. I figured I was lucky that my son was just "picky" and doesn't have any food allergies. In fact, I'm grateful that one of his favorite foods is peanut-butter. I can't imagine life without it, myself. The point is, once I stopped and looked at the problem in a different way, I went from outrage to gratitude.

My son is on vacation this week, so I still don't know what kind of snack will replace his beloved fruit and cereal bars, but I'm grateful that I don't have to worry about him dying from something he eats. And next year he starts kindergarten in a nut friendly class--yay! PB&J's, here we come.

I found compassion and changed my attitude--and energy! And since I was successful here, I know I can continue to look at any problem in a different way and find solutions easily. There really is always something to be grateful for if you just open your eyes and look.

Until next time, be prepared for the best!