Every summer my family and I look forward to late night trips to the drive-in. There is nothing like a warm summer night, food and drinks, kids playing ball, and the start of a big screen movie outdoors just as the sun sets. Last Friday was an unseasonably warm night and the second week our drive-in theater was open. We packed the car with chairs and blankets and headed out for an evening where the kids get to stay up extra late and the hubby and I get a date night of sorts.
If you’ve ever been to a drive-in as an adult, you’ll realize it’s also a great social event. Kids find other kids to play with and adults chat to the adults parked next to them. Only teenagers sit in their fogged window cars. It wasn’t long after we had set up our spot that I started chatting with the mom parked next to us. It wasn’t long after the conversation started that I found out she had multiple food allergies and her son had some too. Talk about a small world.
She recently left her job and started work as a special education advocate so we got to talking about food allergies, advocating for our kids, and how difficult it can be. Then she proudly whipped out a business card for me. I glanced at it. It wasn’t your everyday business card. The top header said “Our Family Food Allergies” followed by “….please be sure to check ALL food”. The card listed the allergies and at the bottom a single line “Accidental Ingestion: Benadryl, Epi-Pen if SEVERE”.
“Wow, what a fantastic idea,” I marveled.
She explained to me that there were so many allergies it just became easier to give the server a card. She further went on to explain that as a single dating mom, it was also much easier to be able to hand the card off rather than start a date listing 8+ allergies. To top it off, she ordered the cards from VistaPrint.com and they were free!
I’m always amazed and in awe of the wonderful people I meet when I take the time to just stop and breathe. Take a moment to chat with the people around you in the grocery line, at the playground; and you might just be surprised as well.
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