Now HOW about THAT...

Aaarrrrgh, another commute from hell, but alas, I digress.

I got a somewhat frantic call from Mrs. K yesterday at around 3.45 pm (Mrs. K is Salamander's primary teacher in the After School Program he attends 3 afternoons/week). I thought that something bad had happened, the way she sounded. She started the conversation by saying 'I'm so sorry... it's been so long since we've seen Salamander at the program...And we're having a Valentine's Day party.... And I didn't get a chance to tell you about it, and now what do I do..'

Ooookaaaay... My response 'That's OK Mrs K, I packed some extra snacks in Salamander's backpack this morning in anticipation of any parties. Does he still have any of those snacks left? Then he can have those..'

Turns out that Salamander had scarved most of the snacks down at Morning Snack Time at school (that was NOT what I had intended, teaches me to be more specific in my instructions to Salamander as to what he can have when and how much. DUH!!).

So I asked that Salamander be put on the phone so I could talk to him.

Me: "Hi honey. Heard you're having a party. Do you have any of your special snacks left?'
Salamander: "I have a couple of cookies left. I ate the rest for Snack this morning.'
Me: "Well, it doesn't sound like there is anything at the party that you can have. How about you eat your REAL snack now then?"
Salamander: "OK mom."
Me: "I know it's hard when your friends are eating something you can't have and there isn't anything special just for you. But you know what happens...'
Salamander interjects, sounding impatiently: "MOM, can I PLEEEAAASE go back to my Legos now?"

[translation - Woman, I KNOW what happens when I eat stuff I can't tolerate. I get sick. Period. It's no big deal. I'm fine. Just let me go back to doing what I was doing]

To me, the awesomeness of this whole conversation lies in the fact that this situation was such a non-issue for him. I should have known that, but I let myself be pulled into the temporary hysteria of 'Oh my GOD. There is a party and Salamander doesn't have a special snack. Is he going to feel left out?'.

Nope, au contraire. He has totally accepted the fact that his foods, snacks, drinks etc. are different. and it's cool with him.