Growing up in a large family I understood that even though we all had the same parents, lived under the same roof and had the same opportunities in life, we all were on different journeys with different obstacles.
Kids with food allergies are destined to a journey much different than other people, even the people they live with each day, but it doesn’t necessarily make it a journey to be dreaded or loathed. In fact, it can be a context for life lessons that create character and sets them on a life course that is utterly amazing. It can bring out parts of them that may have never been uncovered. It can make them more of a whole person.
This week I had Dereth Adkins on my podcast. Dereth shared her own food allergy daughter's life lesson journey. It is easy to understand how special a mother that Dereth is. Her kindness and good nature comes through on the show. I think Dereth can teach us all a bit about parenting with compassion and grace when our journey is not what we expected either.
Here is a bit about Dereth:
Dereth is just a bird loving mom (flying by the seat of her pants most days!) trying to manage her life, one list at a time. She started Bird With A List because she believes in supporting other caregivers and advocates by providing simple solutions and actionable advice for every day problems. As a mom of a teen on the autism spectrum, a teen with life threatening/terrifying food allergies, and an active 11 year old she knows how difficult it can be to balance it all.
Dereth’s website Bird With A List is a fantastic resource that supports the caregiver. Dereth is also available for advocacy consulting.
Bird With A List on Facebook
Email Dereth for advocacy consulting information: dereth@birdwithalist.com