Moving on Past Diagnosis

Success with celiac disease involves walking a fine line. Enjoying a normal life with social lunches and birthday parties, but avoiding setting yourself up to fail with too many temptations. 

When I first learned I could never eat gluten again - Like never? Even when I'm an old, grumpy cat lady with dentures? - I thought the temptations would never end. I stared at my friends' California burritos even as I chewed on my corn tortillas. I pressed my face up against the car window when we passed my past favorite restaurants. 

I can't promise that I don't drool at the smell of glutinous culinary wonders, but I promise you it does get easier. 

Beyond just clothing or electronics, food dominates malls. There's even a TV show where restaurant owners battle to win a store front in popular food courts. Today, for the first time, I went shopping at the mall with food avoidance on the mind instead of cajoles for a cookie snack. 

And you know what? It wasn't that bad. We saw Red Robins out front, but I never ate there even before diagnosis. And, once inside Sears, instead of the smell of hamburgers and fries, loud music assaulted our senses. I was okay with that. 

It was only as we rounded to the clearance section that the store opened up into the main center of the mall. Kids ran around on sugar highs, teenagers walked by with heaping scoops of Dairy Queen Ice Cream, restaurant signs blinked in a choreographed rhythm. My chest tightened. I wanted a damn scoop of ice cream. But, moments later, I moved on and kept shopping, frustrations swept aside. 

Does this mean I've accepted the dietary limits celiac disease has thrown at me? No. Probably - definitely - not. But it shows me that acceptance is possible down the road. 

And I can't wait for the day when I can finally say, "I have moved on."

What is your attitude towards restricted foods? Have you accepted celiac disease eat? Comment below!