Biodegradable what?!

As a parent to a very allergic little boy, you could say I'm cautious.  Ok, Let's not beat around the bush, I'm borderline paranoid.  I think every parent has their share of anxieties. Crossing the street, talking to strangers, playing in electrical sockets.  Maybe your kids are older, and for you its bad influences, drugs, and cars.  Either way, we all have concerns, fears, and areas where we might be a little extra careful.  Because, well, when we're talking about the lives of our children, caution is necessary.  We walk a fine line between protecting your children, and pissing off the rest of the world with what they believe are your insane paranoias.  But for a Mommy, or a Daddy, or an Auntie who's loves her nephew, theres no such thing as paranoid.


One of the things that Gabriel misses most is being waited on.  Of course, we all wish we would eat out less.  It's easy to live without restaurants!  For Gabriel, he misses the attention.  Personally, I miss the convenience.  The days where your just grab something on the way home cause you're running late are gone for us.  The spontaneous trips, or stops on the way home don't exist.  When you cant grab a bite while your out, life requires additional planning.  Sure, we could take a day trip to San Francisco, we'll just pack lunch.  Oh wait, We'll pack dinner too.  And Snacks.  Oh wait, we cant visit that store/attraction/museum, they serve.....and We can no longer shop at Costco, because their wonderful little in store samples, sometimes contain shrimp.  The problem for Gabriel, is not that only that they have nothing for him to eat.  Gabriel can't be inside a restaurant.  Humans naturally want everything that's out of our reach- I think that human nature makes him wish a little harder.   He desperately wants to go sit down at a restaurant, and order a meal.  He pretends as much as he can.  At home, when dinners ready he asks me to yell "order up!"   I, the problem solver, call restaurants every day.  The two foods that we must avoid completely are seafood, and peanuts.  I had a brilliant idea for a moment- I called every vegan restaurant in the area.  I thought it was genius.  Vegans don't eat animal, i.e. fish products.  The problem I found was that vegan restaurants use peanuts, very, very often.

My perseverance paid off last week.  In our new neighborhood, I was shopping at Whole Foods.  On our way out of the parking lot I spotted a cute little gelato shop.  On a whim, I picked up the phone.  I wouldn't dare pull over and go inside- Gabriel was with me and I doubted that it was safe.  The gentleman who answered the phone was sweet.  He was confused, but honest as I asked all the questions.  I interrogated him, and he finally answered "no, Ma'am.  The gelato is made with ONLY fruit water and sugar."
"And you're sure there's no peanuts at all in the shop?"
"Yes, um, yes theres no peanuts here."
Was it really that easy? Within in just a few weeks of moving, did I find somewhere that Gabriel could eat out?  Sure, it wasn't a restaurant, and no, he wouldn't be waited on- But Gabriel could order something OUT?
We visited the gelato shop the first opportunity we had.  I gave the cashier the same interrogation.  Gabriel chose to order to mango gelato, and I kept his backpack full of medicine in my arms.  Gabriel was over the moon.  Who knew some frozen fruit could make you feel human again?  The reward, for a moment, outweighed the risk.  Why is food the way to the heart?  That's not fair, when there's not much you can eat.
Gabriel didn't finish his 'ice-cream.'  His spoon never touched the bottom layer in his cup.  Maybe the excitement was enough for one day.  I told everyone I knew.  We were excited. This was pretty monumental for us.  One of my students said "oh yea, I love that place!  They have those cute little biodegradable sugarcane cups!"  Um, well, I didn't know anything about the cups, but maybe that was the place? Gabriel was so excited to go back- we found ourselves there only 2 days later.  This time Gabriel aunt, TT was with us.
We waited in line and I read the sign.  A little 8x10 print, with pictures of their cute little cups on it.  It said biodegradable.  The teeny little text not he bottom said "made from corn protein."
Corn?
I did my job, I interrogated.  I second guessed them.  I asked how they washed their machines.  I even made sure they have a separate spoon for each flavor.  But the cups?  My Mommy Job description has expanded a bit.  It looks like now I'll be asking questing about plasticware.
I sighed- but I didn't panic.  I got lucky.  Very, Very lucky.  I thought about Gabriel not finishing his ice-cream.  I'm thankful that Gabriel didn't eat the gelato at the bottom of the cup- touching the corn made plastic.  I have to wonder what Gabriel knows.  Call me crazy, but it's been years since Gabriel touched a food he was allergic too.  He's uninterested in the foods that are bad for him, when he knows it or not.  When he has no idea that something will make him sick- he doesn't touch it.  It's a blessing, but it baffles me every time.  I don't know if it's a higher power, or someone whose watching over him, but Gabriel just doesn't eat what's bad for him.  We we're lucky.  Corn can be very dangerous for Gabriel.  I never imagined that I'd need to check the cup.
Luckily, this problem was easy to solve, we used a cardboard to-go cup.  We made it through safely, by the skin of our teeth.

It's time for this paranoid, anxious Mom to make an upgrade.  Next time, I'll be sure to ask about the cups.