I Cut the Food Allergy/Asthma Mama Cord Today

Oh Lord, it was a big day indeed.  Today was the day, mark it on the calendars, August 16th, 2012 that Caroline Moassessi whipped out her mothering scissors, cut the cord and happily dropped off my son to attend his first overnight trip with his brand new school and classmates! This afternoon his 9th grade class (it’s a small school if you are envisioning hundreds of kids-we’re talking under 40), a few teachers and a small school bus and van headed off to Lake Tahoe on an over night orientation retreat.  I did my food allergy and asthma homework, he packed, he showered and then off we drove.  I trusted my son today to advocate for himself and take charge of his food allergies and asthma.
 
In June we were informed of this retreat and over the summer I met with the retreat center’s cook to discuss menu and cross contact issues in the kitchen.  Thankfully, she was very food allergy savvy and quickly came up with some great options to keep him safe:
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• The Center would not serve any peanuts, tree nuts or sesame seeds during the retreat.
• The cook would only order from trusted vendors in which she could read the labels and be able to ask about cross contact.
• Dinner would be served family style on each table and my son would eat first to avoid cross contact with cheese and sour cream (they were making burritos).
• Since this was my son’s first interaction with this school, I offered to supply their snack.  I baked Sunbutter™ granola Bars.
• My son will be invited to speak to the chef if he has any questions.

[/unordered_list] My son and I met with adviser two weeks ago to discuss the trip too.   We were prepared and ready.  My only remaining task was leaving his adviser with a back up set of Epi Pens® today.  I worked on the food prior to the retreat and now my son must carry it out.  In addition to carrying out his personal advocating, the teachers will address is food allergies and then invite Cyrus to his needs with his new classmates.  On Tuesday, when full day classes begin, he will address each grade level separately and advocate for his needs.  This is what he decided and the school is supporting him taking the lead.  The staff has been trained regarding prevention and how to respond to an emergency and they all are taking it quite seriously.
Now, as a Mom, I must let go and let him take his knowledge and confidence to new places.  It is time for him to move out of his comfort zone socially and regarding managing his health.  I felt the same way today as I did when my husband and I walked my son to kindergarten. Sad for our baby growing up and leaving our arms and thrilled for his new adventure.  When he was four years old he said I could call him Baby even when he was big man.  I reminded him of this and said the rule still stands.

This sits on my desk…Cyrus used a magnifier one sunny Mother’s Day.

Of course, in all my self adsorbed behavior today of cutting my cord, I took off my toenail polish and forgot to file, lotion up and reapply…or better yet, go get a pedicure.  Clearly, very unattractive.  This is how I met many of his new classmate’s parents today….

oh, and I forgot to wear make-up too.  What was that saying my mom used to tell me about making first impressions……?
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