2018 is officially over and I'm not too sad to see it go. I've said before it wasn't the best year for us for many reasons. I've already written about a couple failures of 2018, and I was going to write separate posts for all of these, but let's just get over them and move on.
2018 was a year of life lessons and here are a few more things that we learned this year:
1. Dogs have more legal rights than humans.
We have had a terrible time with neighbor dogs ever since we moved in. This summer it culminated in us fearing for our lives whenever we ventured down the driveway. Our very aggressive neighbor dog would charge at us, even breaking through his invisible fence, while we stood frozen in fear. The kids and I regularly got trapped at the end of the driveway, (a quarter mile from our house), trying to inch our way home . Meanwhile, we've had trouble for years with another neighbor's dogs coming over and terrorizing our chickens and scaring our children, which continues to happen (we don't have reason to believe that these dogs would harm people, but they're scary anyway). Then, this fall I got bit twice by another neighbor's dog while out for a run (we didn't even let the kids know about that because they are already so terrified of dogs). We have called the dog warden countless times and all he can do is talk to the owners. We've talked to the neighbors, but they don't care. We've threatened to shoot the dogs and we have shot at the dogs. We considered getting a lawyer, but the most that could possibly happen if we could prove to a court that the dog was on our property was the neighbor's would get a small fine. If we shoot a dog that is not, at the moment we shoot it, menacing people or livestock, the law sides with the dog. Even if we take the dog to the shelter, we could be charged with abducting the dog. The neighbors of the very aggressive dog have told us several times he wouldn't be a problem anymore, and even have told us that they had him put down, only to have us be surprised by the dog coming at us again a few days later. This fall it was bad enough I was very seriously considering moving. The whole situation has left us all with a lot of unease and anxiety.
2. Dairy and soy (and dyes and preservatives) are in EVERYTHING.
My 1-year-old daughter is extremely intolerant of all dairy and soy (Milk and Soy Protein Intolerant = MSPI), including soybean oil and soy lecithan (in which the soy proteins are so broken down the FDA doesn't even consider those a soy allergen on food labels). This includes soy and dairy passed through breastmilk. I have been soy- and dairy-free for 21 months now, which has been tolerable. However, trying to feed an MSPI toddler is a challenge. In addition, my second son is sensitive to yellow dye and TBHQ. This all had me pretty down for awhile this year, as it is difficult for our family to eat anywhere, and we have to make a lot of our food from scratch. Most restaurants use soybean oil in all their foods, and yellow dye is hidden in everything in restaurants. Most common toddler foods have soy and dairy, so we've had to get creative and do some searching to feed my daughter. On the positive side of things though, this has been a great learning experience for the family. My husband and I have learned how to cook and bake soy- and dairy- free, and I honestly don't even miss it anymore (except I would really like be able to eat at Olive Garden and Coldstone). We have researched substitutions and come up with our own and scoured the internet and grocery store shelves for "safe" food. We have found restaurants that we can eat some things at. My boys are very watchful of their sister when there's food around. And my son, just three-years-old, is so good and accepting about watching what he eats and asking "Is this safe for me?" if something is new. He remembers how the dye and preservatives make him feel and his is so willing to avoid foods that will make him sick. All the dietary changes has made the whole family much healthier and conscious about what we eat. My daughter is still very reactive to soy and dairy and, although most children grow out of this intolerance, her pediatrician is not sure she ever will, and if she does it won't be anytime soon. I'm hoping to turn our experiences and what we've learned into a blog to help other families make food elimination, but that is currently just in the starting phase.
3. House fires can happen to anyone.
This one is the biggie.
If this didn't happen, I don't think I would have such a negative attitude about 2018. I probably wouldn't have even thought of this other stuff in a negative light. But August 26, 2018, was kind of the deal-breaker. Ever since then I've kind of been on "What's going to happen next?" watch.
I will probably write out the whole story in the future, as it was such a significant event, but it's still fermenting and, even though it was several months ago, I'm slightly embarrassed to say I'm still dealing with it.
Very early in the morning on that day, we were awoken by a storm, followed by the fire alarm. What transpired over the next hour was the most terrifying experience in any of our lives. And although no one was physically injured and there was barely any damage to speak of, the situation surrounding the event was pretty traumatic (i.e., sitting out in the car in driveway been pounded by a raging storm with two crying toddlers and a very terrified, yet stoic, 6 year old waiting for our house to blow up with my husband in it). We now have 14 fire extinguishers in our house, along with a two-story escape ladder in each bedroom, a fire plan, and anxiety that will haunt us for the rest of our lives.
Well, on that happy note.....
Let's welcome in 2019! I know it will be better (and I'll write about the good stuff of 2018 soon too).
