Growing Up With Food Allergies

When I was a kid I had food allergies. 

I couldn’t eat eggs, tomatoes, oranges, peanuts or chocolate. Or anything that contained these items.

My mother would buy apple juice and tell the family, “This is SPECIAL, just for Robin!” Even as a child I knew that was bulls**t! 

(To this day I don’t like apple juice!)

But it was chocolate that I had the hardest time avoiding.

I was in fourth grade.

My school didn’t have a cafeteria so I had to walk to the high school for lunch.

Except….. their food was horrible!

AND….. right across the street from the high school was a little mom & pop store called Cavities. It was a candy store (they must have had a great sense of humor!)

Every day I would take my lunch money, walk to Cavities and buy myself a Fudgsicle, a Coke, two Twizzlers and two pieces of Double Bubble bubble gum. A balanced diet!

One day my friend Harriet went with me. 

As we were walking back to our school, who should pull up beside us but my MOTHER!

I quickly put the fudgsicle I was eating behind my back, but not fast enough.

My mother asked what I had behind my back.

Seeing no way out I showed her the fudgsicle.

But I was not about to go down without a fight!

I blamed it on Harriet!

I said, “SHE bought it for me!" pointing to Harriet. "I couldn’t very well be impolite and refuse could I?”

  

My mother just looked at me, shook her head and said, “Nice try!”