I have been pretty busy the last few days with house guests which has unfortunately cut into my FAAW time. But it also brings me to my post for the last day of FAAW. Our friends, Jen, Jeff and Kayla’s best friend Emma stayed with use for a couple nights before they closed on their house. It was great to have them with us for their last couple of days in New Jersey.

Jen and Jeff are truly special people. We have been extremely luck to have many friends in our lives who have shown us how important we are to them by working with us and helping us to take care of Kayla. Jen and Jeff were no exception. They were not only the first of our friends to make their daughter’s birthday party dairy-free; and this after only knowing us for 1 month; but they did it all without making us feel awkward. Food allergy parents know how uncomfortable it is to request accommodations for our children in someone else’s home. But Jen and Jeff, like so many of our other friends have taken it in stride, helped us by accommodating Kayla and not letting us down. Jen once told me that it “was not an inconvenience”. Now I certainly would never hold her to that thought, but I know she meant it. Jeff is one of the very rare individuals whom I have let cook for Kayla and part of that, aside from him being on top of the ingredients and putting up with my endless cross-contamination pestering is that he is always nervous about her eating. He keeps a close eye on her when she eats his food. It shows how seriously he takes it and he knows that no matter how careful you are, mistakes can and do happen. More than most, they understand where I was coming from and when we were out and Emma wanted a snack, Jen would pull a sealed bag of snacks out of her bag that she knows is and has always been safe for Kayla and instead of handing it to Emma, she hands it to me to check the ingredients. I never needed to remind her. She just knew and rememberd.

So yesterday was a very difficult day for us as they left New Jersey to start their journey to California. We will miss them and wish them a safe journey!