I can’t think of a time in my life when a vacation wouldn’t be welcome but never more so has this been true than now.  We are moving in a week.  Julia was just diagnosed with Celiac Disease.  We have a myriad of things to do related to both (packing, moving things, throwing things out, an appointment at Children’s, reading about the gluten-free diet, adapting to the diet, trying new foods, informing the school, getting her a health or 504 plan etc. etc. etc.).  A week off in the middle of all that?  I’ll take it.

We are staying at the Ocean Club right on Smuggler’s Beach.  I couldn’t have asked for better weather for an April beach vacation-we have been on the beach everyday playing in the sand.  Today, on the warmest day yet,  Emily and Katherine took the polar plunge.  They ran in, dove under and ran out.  I dipped my feet in the other day-my best guess for the water temperature-50 degrees?  Yes they are nuts.  Thank goodness there is a pool for those of us that aren’t quite that brave.

Of course, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t doing some reading about Celiac Disease and going gluten-free.  I have been a book called, “Celiac Disease: A Hidden Epidemic.”  I am only a few chapters in but so far it has been very informative.  The first couple of chapters basically detail the way a fully functioning digestive system works.  This is only one of the systems in a human body and reading through it really gave me a whole new perspective on how amazing the human body truly is.  I am just getting in to the Celiac part now.  I am amazed by how little gluten it takes to do damage-one crumb per day for three months wouldn’t even add up to a slice of bread in total but it is enough to damage the small intestine. I also learned that because gluten is such a sticky substance, it does not wash off in the dishwasher.  Keeping that in mind we will be getting a separate toaster, colander and pot/pan for Julia which will only be used to cook her bread, pasta etc.  Beyond that, it is amazing the things that I need to consider going forward-providing gluten-free options for her at school for any events that include food, sending gluten-free cupcakes, pizza etc. for any birthday parties she may be invited to,  bringing her own food to a big family event we attend every New Year’s Day that centers around pasta etc.  I also need to educate Julia-we have had some very basic conversations about this but she needs to know what is safe and what isn’t, understand that she can not “trade” snacks with her friends at school, can’t necessarily eat the snacks at family or friends parties etc.  I wish she had been diagnosed with this at a younger age so she wouldn’t have known the difference and it would have just been part of her life.  Now that she is older and has had 7 years of eating without any restriction about what (well except the normal making healthy choices, not overdoing it etc) I have a feeling this may be a little harder.

Speaking of being diagnosed at a younger age, many of you know Julia’s history of developmental delays-speech and language, physical, occupational and social delays etc.  After numerous therapies in all areas she has really made unbelievable progress.  She  is for the most part a “typical” kid at this point.  Many kids with delays go gluten-free and see marked improvements.  This is seen especially in children on the autism spectrum.  I am very interested in seeing how this will affect Julia in the present and can’t help but wonder how it would have affected her in the past.

Anyway, that’s what’s been going on in my neck of the woods.  Now-off to the beach!