Bunches of Thanks for my Dietitian

Today is Registered Dietitian Nutritionist Day, and therefore a day on which I want my Registered Dietitian to know just how much I appreciate her.^*  Of course, I should be letting her know that anyway!  Just like appreciation for mothers should not be held back until Mother's Day or appreciation for fathers held for Father's Day, I should be thanking my dietitian routinely for making my life easier.  Still, I know that I am guilty of  uttering "thanks" at the end of a phone call in a way that is more reflective of habit than a heartfelt sharing of appreciation.  Plus everyone likes to get a little bit of extra love every now and then!

So what awesome show of appreciation did I plan for my dietitian so she could feel some love before sitting down at her desk for another day of helping parents figure out how to meet their kids' nutritional needs without much more than sugar and air?

Not         a          thing.

And it's not because I didn't know that today was special.  It's because life was busy.  I was focused on my kids' schedules - their school stuff, medical stuff and extra activities, along with my own version of each.  At the same time, I was also trying to do what my dietitian has taught me even when all I want is to serve my kids a gourmet meal of hot dogs while I dive into a sleeve of Thin Mints®.  Or maybe it's just because I still have not learned the lesson on punctuality - or the ones about run on sentences or punctuation, for that matter - that my 8th grade English teacher just could not make me learn.  (Sorry, Mrs. Hammen!  I know you tried.)   But the day is not done, so I still have time to throw together something awesome(ish).

It is now my pleasure to present...

Just a few of the bunches of reasons I appreciate our dietitian^*  

1. She is always just a phone call or voicemail message away.
2. When she answers the phone, she does so with a smile - even if what she is really thinking is "Oh, Dear Lord, what can she possibly want this time?!"  (And yes, I have called her so frequently that she often knows it is me before she answers.)
3. She doesn't laugh at my questions, ridiculous as they may be.
4. At our first appointment, she looked silently at the huuuuuuuuuuuuge list of allergens we must avoid and resisted the urge to blurt out "What does he eat?!"  Instead, she suggested that we ignore the overwhelming list of allergens and focus on the much shorter list of foods that are safe.
5. She doesn't yell at me for feeding my kids too much sugar.  Not even when I told her about my "Just Sugar" cookies!
6. When I ask her if the 9 syllable ingredient that I can't even pronounce is safe, she often knows exactly what I am talking about and whether it is worth taking the chance.  When she doesn't, she takes the time to find out.
7. Samples!  (Need I say more?)
8. She doesn't yell at me about not eating my greens.  Instead, she works with me to ensure that I am getting the necessary micronutrients without making me feel even more self-conscious about my persnickety eating habits.
9. She tallies the number of calories my children need to grow and develop properly, and then retallies after each growth spurt or weight gain/loss.
10. She helps me review the options presented by the allergist to decide which food to trial next.
11. She recognizes that what looks good on paper may not work perfectly in real life, and she helps me adjust feeding and meal plans accordingly.
12. I think, after all this, that it goes without saying, but I'm going to say it anyway.  My Registered Dietitian is just plain awesome!

^*Technically "them" rather than "her" because I actually have two dietitians that I can and do call on as needed!  But they are both women, and therefore a "her" will suffice.  I have no doubt that "they" will understand the need for me to find a way to use fewer words!