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Hi All,

Just venting my spleen about families who make coeliacs feel like social
outcasts! Sorry for whinging, but I have to get this off my chest!  So, if
you don't want to watch while a grown woman has a major dummy-spit (Aussie
slang for temper tantrum) please trash this now ;-}

Yesterday I struck a blow for put-upon celiacs everywhere! I was SO
disappointed and hurt by my family.  I have been GF for four years and, even
although I have an aunt (by marriage) who is a long diagnosed coeliac, my
family has taken a lot of convincing that Coeliac Disease is not an
imaginary illness.  I thought I'd finally gotten through to them. I was
wrong.  My parents had a birthday lunch yesterday for my sister and I. The
menu? First course: homemade vegetable soup containing barley with crusty
bread. The main course wasn't too bad (roast lamb and vegetables) as long as
I avoided the gravy and several of the vegetables (sauce covered). Dessert?

Home made wheat muffins (two flavours!), icecream (not GF) and jelly
(jello).  At least I like jelly!  Then to cap it off, out comes the birthday
cake - you guessed it - wheat based.  So, after sitting for two out of three
courses watching other people eat (don't that make a girl feel good!), I
blew out the candles and watched while everyone else had cake (except the
other "birthday girl" who doesn't even like sponge cake).  The killer is -
they didn't forget or make a mistake - each time a gluten-containing course
was served they said "You can't have this".  To make matters worse my dear
old, hard of hearing grandmother punctuated every course with "Aren't you
having soup dear?  Aren't you having any birthday cake?".

At this point you're probably saying to yourself "WHAT A WHINGER THIS WOMAN
IS - couldn't she just have brought some GF food and not put her poor family
to so much trouble?"  Well, you know what they say about difficult families
- they're so.... difficult.  The rules are: 1) you can go anyplace for
family get togethers so long as its my parents' home, 2) non-attendance is
punishable by death, and 3) you can eat anything so long as its what's on
offer.  I have long given up taking GF stuff to our family do's - even
taking GF bread provokes a major sulk and much rolling of eyes!  After four
years of coping graciously with this diet I can say with all honesty (I
swear!) that I have NEVER been a pain in the you-know-what about it.  I have
snuck off to the ladies at parties, office functions, etc., to eat a couple
of rice cakes/dried fruits rather than embarrass the host who (surprise!)
has not remembered my GF status, even when they've been reminded gently a
day or so earlier.  I cringe that I would ever inconvenience someone else
because I have "special" dietary needs. Face it guys - I'm a doormat! WELL,
NOT ANY MORE!!!

Somehow, when it's your own family you expect a little more understanding,
especially on your birthday! Don't get me wrong - I didn't expect everyone
else to have to eat GF.  I didn't even really expect a GF cake - a store
bought GF biscuit with a candle in it would have been funny! Or I could have
made a cake!  I'm just disappointed that my own family could be so rude! I
didn't appreciate having to sit and watch everyone else eat after not being
given the opportunity to help with the catering.  Face it - I was set up to
feel bad by the people who are supposed to love me.   BUT
WAIT!!!.......THERE IS A HAPPY ENDING TO THIS SAD TALE! I struck a blow for
coeliacs everywhere! I did it for anyone who has ever had a problem with
their difficult family, or who got presented with a sandwich for a "GF"
meal, or who went to a dinner and there was NOTHING they could eat! (You
might like to put on some "I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take it
anymore" music here. "The Ride of the Valkyries" works for me).

So........

I excused myself while they were still eating their cake.
I got in my car.
I drove home.
I cried.
I had a glass of wine.
A big one.
I rang my family.

I thanked them for making me sit and watch them eat.  For making me feel
like a pariah, an outcast (yes, I know a pariah IS an outcast but you're
allowed to repeat yourself when telling your family off) and a neurotic with
an "imaginary" food intolerance. I told them that life's too short for this
!@#$%^&*.  And I told them what to do with their birthday cake.  And then I
hung up.  God forgive me - it felt soooo good.  (Of course, half my family
may never speak to me again....) Thank you for listening.

Regards,  Dawn
PS. you can turn the music off now ;-}

*************************************************************************
        Dawn C Grassick, BSc, Grad. Dip. Scs. Comm., MASM

        Regulatory Affairs Department,
        Golden Glow Natural Health Products
        (A branch of Faulding Healthcare Pty Ltd)
        PO Box 45 Virginia  Qld 4014, Australia
        Tel:  Int + 61 + 7 + 3246 4427
        Fax:  Int + 61 + 7 + 3865 2171
        Web Site:  www.goldenglow.com.au

        Artificial Intelligence is no match for Natural Stupidity