Ella and I are going to start off our travel adventures next week with a trip to exciting Manitoba, Canada. I know, it's not China or Uganda or Ireland, but we have a very good reason for choosing Manitoba. We have the most amazing friends who moved there recently, and it just happened that the timing worked for both of us, and visa points could foot the bill, so away we go!
Ella is so excited to go on an airplane. The last time she took to the skies, she was 18 months old and doesn't remember a thing about it. Probably for the best, as she cried the entire way home from Toronto. Hopefully this flight goes a little better. And, of course, she is also beyond excited to spend time with her friends.
I am more nervous than excited, at least about the flight. I'm not afraid of flying or anything, but when your daughter has a life-threatening peanut allergy, it's pretty scary to be trapped thousands of miles away from a hospital with a hundred other people who are probably eating peanuts, peanut butter sandwiches, and peanut M&Ms. We are taking the necessary precautions, but the risk is still there.
For any of you who don't know us, Ella is about as allergic as a person can be to peanut. We're talking throat-swelling, unable-to-breathe, violently-vomiting, heart-stopping, possible-death allergic. We always carry at least two EpiPens anywhere we go, we have to be extremely careful about what she eats, and we have to control her environment, because literally a speck of peanut protein that enters her body can cause anaphylactic shock. So think about all the times you see people on flights popping nuts into their mouths and then touching the arm rest, tv screen, seat pocket, seatbelt, etc, etc, etc. Peanut protein everywhere!
But (and this is a big but) we are determined not to let her allergy dictate our lives. Sure, she has to be safe, and it makes "simple" things (like dinner out or an airplane ride) a lot more complicated, but that doesn't mean we can't do these things. It just takes more planning, research and caution than your average family. And if we're going to do as much travel as we are planning to, then we'll just have to get used to it!
So even though I am nervous, I am also beyond excited. The friends that we are going to visit are unschoolers, just like us. (In fact, these are the friends that introduced us to the whole idea of unschooling, which I wrote about in why we unschool.) And now that we've been on this journey for a little while, I am starting to realize how much we need people in our world who "get" us, and this wonderful family probably "gets" us better than anyone else. Other homeschool moms come close, but they still look at me with a mixture of confusion and doubt when I tell them that we don't go for the whole "school-at-home" thing. Other Christian parents share our faith, but they don't share our educational philosophies. Not that I can't be friends with these people, obviously! We love all our friends dearly and are so thankful for their friendship and support! But I've realized that it's also important for us to have people that we can discuss "unschooling things" with. People with whom we can share our fears, talk about milestones, share resources, discuss books, talk about ideas, discuss our educational philosophy, and offer support. So I am incredibly thankful for this opportunity to spend some quality time with my lovely friend! I just wish she lived closer so we could see them more often!
So in just one week, we'll be off! I'm sure we will both have fun, learn lots, and even be able to check "socialization" off our list for this week. ;)
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