A Friday Chuckle

I was catching up on the internet and came across this comic from Married to the Sea, one of my favorite comic sites:

If you want to print it out yourself, here's the link to the original post.
Happy Friday!

Small Town Kindness

So, grocery stores might be a tad difficult, but it turns out that there are some perks to being part of a small community. I used to work at a big place. A place that was so big that it didn't faze anyone to put a plate of lettuce in front of me and call it a meal even though everyone else was eating breads and meats and sides and desserts. 

Here, however, things are different. I'm not sure if it is because I'm now part of a very small work community or if it is just because moms here come with some very strong programming that requires them to offer rich food to everyone they meet. I was fully prepared for a lettuce-fest or to eat one of my Kind bars for lunch during my training, when the woman who runs our cafeteria came out and handed me a specially made sandwich on gluten-free bread (with homemade garlic-guacamole spread!). The next day at training was even more impressive - this time the cafeteria made gluten-free vegetarian pasta salad as a regular menu item for everyone to eat. Not a tiny plop of food for me, but food for EVERYONE that was based on MY needs. And they brought me out a special, toasty warm bun so I could eat what everyone else was eating. Minnesota NIIIIICE! No employer has ever made such a sweeping gesture to ensure that I had food to eat, or that my food was satisfying. 

During lunch yesterday, I felt so welcomed and valued in my new community. I wasn't an afterthought to be handed some naked* iceberg and pushed out of the way, but I was someone who warranted advanced planning and preparation and menu adjustment! I tracked down the cafeteria lady and practically professed my undying love for her. Food can be a powerful tool and I don't think most people stop shoveling it in their mouths long enough to realize it. Value your food and what it means to who you are and how you connect with people. Accommodating others is a very personal way to show that you care about them. 

Maybe I'll be okay here after all!

*Naked salad is how I refer to the unfortunate situation when the raw vegetables pass the glutard test, but none of the dressings do. Raw vegetables a lunch do not make, unless anorexic you are. More than one food group per meal, please.**

**Unless it is a block of Dubliner cheese. Then one food group is plenty. 

Big Move!

Remember when I said I wouldn't ever move because I lived next to glutard pizza and beer? Well, I moved. And not just down the block like the last time. Days after I posted that, I was offered a job in the rural midwest. Which means that I haven't been blogging because I've been hauling my possessions across the country and figuring where I am going to eat. 

Breaking news: Turns out it is way easier to be a glutard in a metropolitan area than in the middle of nowhere. The grocery store in my town of 6,000 people has a 6-box-wide gluten-free section (don't get excited... wait for it...): But it is all mixes. No pastas, no cookies, no breads, no waffles. No convenience food. Just mixes. And it looks like it was stocked in 2000, back before companies figured out how to make edible gluten-free food. Seriously, it is all of the pioneer brands and nothing recent or delicious. I'm sure the grocer means well, they've just completely missed the mark. I cried in the damn grocery store. Thankfully, I found a co-op about 25 min away that carries better gluten-free options. I was so relieved that I posed for a picture with glutard waffles. I think Amazon is about to become my new best friend.