Amazing Conversations

[WinterSong]

There's a really wonderful thread on here called "Ridiculous Conversations". This is my attempt at the opposite - a thread for people who surprise us and GET IT. When this happens, I swear I'm so surprised that I want to jump up and down. 

 

I feel like this kind of thread could also serve as a reference to significant others, friends and family members who are visiting this forum and are unsure how to best support their Celiac/gluten-free loved one - to perhaps learn through example and see how easy it is to make our day and lives a little easier.   

 

I'll start (heads up - most of my stories are about my boyfriend).

 

1. When I first started dating my current boyfriend I was worried about telling him about kissing CC because my last boyfriend was awful, called me paranoid, and continuously got me sick. So one night my new boyfriend had a beer, and the following conversation happened:

Boy: I'm so supportive of your gluten free diet. It's great. As long as, ya know, I can't get you sick by kissing you or something....(Pause from me)...wait....Could I get you sick? 

Me: (tentatively/briefly explains the danger of it)

Boy: Well, I don't want you to get sick! And I'm gonna want to kiss you....so I'll just drink cider or wine! Or I'll brush my teeth - that would be okay, right?

Me: (totally shocked) Well, yes, that would be great. The more romantic thing, of course, would be to just eat gluten free with me, and you already do that.

Boy: No problem. I mean I'm gonna want to kiss you!

Me:     

A week or so later he bought a new pan and cooking utensils so that we could have some dedicated cookware at his apartment for us. 

 

2. I took my boyfriend to a jazz club last night as a surprise birthday present and ordered us a bottle of wine (I told him to plan on going out for drinks rather than food). The waiters were walking by with yummy looking food, and halfway through the show he got hungry. He pointed to a few things on the menu. I told him, "Definitely get something if you're hungry. I just don't know if it's gluten free." He didn't order anything and later said, "I decided against it because I'd rather kiss you."     

 

3. Last year I spent Thanksgiving with a friend/her family, and I was prepared to cook my own food. Her mother called me several times the week before, said she read up on Celiac and cross contamination, and explained how she was going to make every dish. When I got there, she had a brand new cutting board and sponge ready for me along with a goodie bag of gluten-free snacks to have throughout the day. She showed me how she prepped the food, and sure enough she did EVERYTHING right! I felt so privileged to be in the presence of such kindness and to have had such a wonderful welcome into her home, especially when I had no where else to go for the holiday.

[bartfull]

Off the top of my head, the sweetest words I've heard re celiac disease were, "Come anyway!" when friends were having a dinner or going out. They know I can't eat, but it's my company they want.

[nvsmom]

It is nice how most people (in my experience) will go out of their way for us or are at least understanding when we bring our own food... at least the people who care about us.  It's nice when they try to understand.  

[Adalaide]

1. When I first started dating my current boyfriend I was worried about telling him about kissing CC because my last boyfriend was awful, called me paranoid, and continuously got me sick. So one night my new boyfriend had a beer, and the following conversation happened:

Boy: I'm so supportive of your gluten free diet. It's great. As long as, ya know, I can't get you sick by kissing you or something....(Pause from me)...wait....Could I get you sick? 

Me: (tentatively/briefly explains the danger of it)

Boy: Well, I don't want you to get sick! And I'm gonna want to kiss you....so I'll just drink cider or wine! Or I'll brush my teeth - that would be okay, right?

Me: (totally shocked) Well, yes, that would be great. The more romantic thing, of course, would be to just eat gluten free with me, and you already do that.

Boy: No problem. I mean I'm gonna want to kiss you!

Me:     

A week or so later he bought a new pan and cooking utensils so that we could have some dedicated cookware at his apartment for us. 

 

2. I took my boyfriend to a jazz club last night as a surprise birthday present and ordered us a bottle of wine (I told him to plan on going out for drinks rather than food). The waiters were walking by with yummy looking food, and halfway through the show he got hungry. He pointed to a few things on the menu. I told him, "Definitely get something if you're hungry. I just don't know if it's gluten free." He didn't order anything and later said, "I decided against it because I'd rather kiss you."     

 

 

You're marrying him right? RIGHT??????

[WinterSong]

You're marrying him right? RIGHT??????

 

Haha I'll let you know when he pops the question, although I may beat him to it -

"Wanna make gluten free pizza bagels tonight?"

"MARRY ME"

lol

[Adalaide]

Not really a conversation, more of an activity. My gluten eating husband's favorite food in the whole whole world is pizza. For his birthday, even though I said we could go anywhere and I'd bring something to eat, we went to a pizza place that has a separate gluten free kitchen to pretty much guarantee a safe pizza. We had never been there before so he didn't even know if he'd like their pizza or not. I think I gots me as close to a perfect man as they come. (Now if only I could fix his aversion to vegetables! )

[KCG91]

My friends know I don't buy biscuits any more because the gluten-free ones are so expensive (we are students!) but they always buy a box when I go over
My Mum sent my Dad to the wholefood co-op for one thing for me (there's a great one near them and none near me) - he came back with so much stuff for me! He's also spent ages making up curry powders from scratch because he's worried that the shop bought ones will contain gluten/won't be labelled properly. 

[africanqueen99]

My daughter (age 7) was invited to a birthday party this weekend. The birthday twins are good friends and I adore their mother. Before the party she asked where she could buy a single gluten-free cupcake to decorate like the others. I gave her some ideas, but told her I was happy to buy the cupcake for her and please don't go out of your way.

Fast forward several weeks and she calls to tell me she ordered a gluten-free cake from a dedicated facility so "She can have the same as everybody else."

Good friends can be hard to find.

[WinterSong]

I'm seriously loving this thread! Keep the good stories coming!

 

I definitely believe that people who love and care about someone else will put their own wants aside for that someone else's needs, and will do so with grace and kindness. 

[GF Lover]

My Mom and her Hubs live in Hawaii.  They came for their visit this summer.  They are cooking savants and always cook when they are visiting and it would be their first visit since I started gluten-free.  I must admit, I was a bit depressed at the thought that I would not be able to enjoy food they made.  My brothers and I all host them for different weeks during their visit.  When my turn came, they got there with bags of groceries to make their incredible dinners for us.  I was about in tears when I saw all the items were gluten free and she had me double check everything to make sure.  They even deftly made bread crumbs in my blender with Udi's for an incredible eggplant parmesan .  The food was absolutely fantastic!  Those kinds of things really make one feel good

[1desperateladysaved]

My 9 year old daughter reads labels for me.  She also keeps track of which day I am on in my 4 day rotation.  If I need to know if I can eat apples today or not, she "Remember the last time you ate them you had apple pie with pumpkin seed crust?" 

 

My adult daughter came to me with tears in her eyes.  She had allowed gluten in "my car."  The next day she got up early (on her day off) vacuumed and scrubbed the car.

[NoGlutenCooties]

I'm so new at this that I haven't had these types of experiences yet... but you guys are making me cry! 

[GF Lover]

I'm so new at this that I haven't had these types of experiences yet... but you guys are making me cry! 

 

You will Cooties and it will warm your heart

 

Colleen

[Pegleg84]

My man is always trying to find new treats that I can eat, and will proudly show me the bag. "Can you eat these?" Sometimes it turns out I can't, but he's getting better and always checking to make sure things are safe.

Also, on trips to the US he usually hauls back some New Planet or Greens for me. I do love him for other reasons too, I just can't remember what....

 

As for being impressed with people's knowledge:

This past weekend was my cousin's wedding, so I was skeptical of how much I'd be able to eat. Thankfully, since his father, my mom, aunt, and a few others are Celiac as well, at least 80% of the food was entirely gluten/dairy/soy free (also, kosher). Everything was labelled properly and well separated, so no problems.

 

Also, at the hotel restaurant, I checked and asked if there was anything I could have. "Is it an allergy or a preference?" YES! They actually checked! They brought some gluten-free bread for mom, but told me I probably should avoid it (because of possible soy/dairy) since they couldn't find the ingredients list. (!) They even checked with my uncle when he ordered room-service gluten-free pizza. (pro tip: Fairmont Royal York in Toronto gets top marks for gluten-free awareness)

[BelleVie]

My boyfriend is SO wonderful in dealing with celiac. He refuses to have any foods in our house that contain gluten, for fear that it will cross contaminate something. He is extremely careful with brushing his teeth every time we come home after we've been out so he can kiss me. And he is already planning out how we will deal when we go home for a visit. He has explained CC to his mom, and says that we will spend the first day scrubbing the kitchen from top to bottom to ensure no risk of CC. His mom is determined to learn how to cook for me. They make me feel really special and loved.  

 

Another great memory: the first time I flew into town to visit my boyfriend when we first started dating, he took me into his kitchen and opened the cabinets. He'd bought just about EVERY glutino product for sale at his grocery store. He was remarkably supportive from day one. 

 

During my gluten challenge, he was always ready with a heat pack for my headaches, or with a back rub or head massage, and he never took it personally when I got angry or emotional from the gluten. Still doesn't. I like him an awful lot.   

[KCG91]

Just today - I was texting my mum about ordering gluten free ingredients for me to make my Christmas food with (I'm a student and heading home for Christmas in a couple of weeks). I mentioned what I was planning to buy and what I'd make myself. A tradition of ours is soaking fruit and spices in booze, then drinking the spirit and using the soaked fruit and spices to make a cake. I said I'd pinch a small amount of soaked fruit and spices to make a little gluten-free cake. She asked why I wasn't making the whole thing gluten free  

[NoGlutenCooties]

I had to go to a 4-hour training meeting today - and they were ordering in lunch.  I had no idea what they were going to order or from where - I didn't even bother to ask - just took my own food.  Which is fine... I take my lunch to work everyday anyhow.  So they have donuts and bagels when we get there and then they order pizza.  Of course, a few people inquire as to why I'm eating a salad, red beans and rice, nuts, and an apple when I could be eating pizza - so I tell them I'm gluten intolerant.  There are about 30 to 40 people at this meeting.  Turns out one has a Celiac cousin, another a Celiac sister, another a Celiac friend.  Another has a husband who went gluten-free but refused to get tested - but no longer suffers from a laundry list of ailments that (thankfully) his wife didn't get into.

 

Then the woman next to me starts asking some pretty specific questions about symptoms and getting tested, etc.  Turns out she's been having a bunch of the typical symptoms and there are a series of diseases that are common in her family that would suggest possible Celiac - although no one in her family has been diagnosed.  She started taking notes and intends to get tested.

 

It just made me feel really good that 1) no one treated me like a weirdo for eating my own food, 2) so many people have not only heard of Celiac but actually know someone who has it, know what it is, and understand it - to a degree, anyways, and 3) I may have gotten this woman to get tested...  who knows... it may actually save her life.

 

And on top of that... out of those 30 to 40 people I noticed only about 6 of them looked they were near a healthy weight.  They can keep their darn pizza!! 

[WinterSong]

Okay, so not only is my boyfriend amazing but I'm also in love with his mother!

 

I'm going to their home for Christmas for the first time, and my boyfriend said his mom is concerned about what I could eat and wants recipes and ingredient lists. If I spend the holidays away from home, I generally have a very good game plan that makes it very easy on my host. I sent her an email explaining how I normally approach holidays. Here are all of the amazing things from her response:

 

1. There are three or four foods that she avoids. "So even though my diet is nowhere as restrictive as yours, I absolutely have compassion for what you must face every day."

 

2. She was very interested in the idea of a gluten free diet, so she's been asking my boyfriend tons of questions about it since he first told her about me. My boyfriend knows all about cross contamination, so she has a pretty good understanding of at least the basics.

 

3. She offered to buy an extra non-stick pan and cooking utensils to be dedicated gluten free for future visits and let me know that she has stainless steal cookware, too

 

4. She wants to check out the gluten free section in her local grocery store to look for ingredients for their tradition dishes, as well as look into possible restaurants options.

 

5. When I offered to help cook, she was thrilled and said that she'd be very interested in the family going gluten free for the week I'm there. 

 

           

 

So much kindness! I was already planning on bringing them a big batch of homemade cookies. I think I'm also going to bring a bunch of my good flour blend so I can make breakfast every morning. 

 

I'm amazed by how kind people are sometimes.