This past weekend I spent with relatives for my aunt’s memorial service. I arrive in Seattle, walk into my aunt’s condo, and within in 5 minutes, hear this phrase echoing from somewhere in the kitchen:

“We Know You Don’t Eat Chicken”

Wow. Great. OK. I see my mother has been regaling the relatives on the quirkiness of her only daughter. I don’t think she fully understands, nor comprehends WHY I don’t eat chicken… but it’s a start. Since I had missed lunch, I am given some Thai leftovers of white/brown rice (cool!) beef with vegetables (not bad… probably some corn derivatives in the sauce but I scrape off what I can) and herb tea. A decent lunch for a beggar. I’m thinking this weekend might not be so bad for me food-wise. Until dinner arrives…

Since… “We Know You Don’t Eat Chicken”, dinner was lasagna… tomato/wheat lasagna. I felt my stomach do flips at the mere thought. Plus, one of my aunts had made her signature dinner rolls. I felt I had one of 3 choices… 1) I could not eat and feel miserable 2) I could rummage around and try to find something suitable to eat and risk making others feel bad for not “providing” adequate food for me during our family’s time of mourning, or 3) enjoy sharing food lovingly prepared by my family and feel grateful that I had food at all. I went for option 3. Plates were full enough already without me making a fuss. And I did survive.

The next day I fared a little better in the sea of avoids. There was lots of fresh fruit at breakfast and… organic yogurt!!… along with a few other lovingly prepared avoids. But the yogurt and fruit certainly helped make for a good start to the day. And later, at the reception, since “We Know You Don’t Eat Chicken”, roasted turkey breast was served, along with deviled eggs, beet and Brussels sprouts salad, raw veggies and a few other B friendly items. I began to feel myself returning to more of an even keel, and I slept fairly well that night. In the morning, I made oatmeal for breakfast, with raisins and raw almonds… a wonderful beginning for a day of travel back home.

Interesting to note that although I felt some discomfort from some of the avoids, I didn’t notice any lasting effects. Maybe it was because they were prepared with love. I’d like to think so.

At least I didn’t have to eat any chicken!