Today has had a  tricky start.  I hadn’t thought of the impact of being in the office and not being able to have a cup of tea.  I thought I was well prepared and had packed my lunch last night whilst I made those for M and G; and had even thought ahead to the matter of breakfast as I wouldn’t be able to have my toast in the office, but I completely forgot about my love for a cuppa.

My morning routine sees me catching the train into work, walking across to the office and putting the kettle on for that first cup almost as soon as I’ve walked through the door and switched on my computer.  Today I did the same and then realised that I couldn’t have my usual cup as I can’t add any milk and I’m definitely not a fan of tea without the white stuff.  Fortunately, I do have a small number of fruit teas in my desk drawer, but I have to confess that a morning brew of Cranberry, Raspberry and Elderflower does not hit the spot in quite the same way.

Added to that, today saw a small selection of chocolates on offer as there was an office birthday to celebrate.  I stayed strong and avoided the temptation and was intrigued to find out whether Mike avoided his office temptations as well.  Working in a local council office, Mike has found that there are regular and ready supplies of cakes, biscuits, chocolates and sweets on hand, sometimes to celebrate special occasions, but frequently there “just because”.  He’d already confessed that this would be the hardest part of his week on M’s diet, so we will have to monitor closely to see how we manage these potential pitfalls.  A text arrived from Mike around lunchtime, “It’s someone’s birthday at work, so I can’t have any of the lovely choc cake or cookies brought in.  She did, however, bring some bananas, so I’ve had one of those.” – I’m so glad to learn that I’m not the only one who’s had to refuse birthday delights today.

We haven’t fared too badly today, though my lunchbox felt as if it didn’t contain much more than fresh air.  Both Mike and I had drinks arranged for after work, albeit separately.  I checked with Google to make sure I knew what was okay for me to drink and found that no hardship as all wines and most spirits are gluten free.  I settled for the safe bet of vodka and cranberry juice and that saw me through the afternoon.  I did, however, learn just how hard it was to abstain from the other temptations at the pub.  Around 5pm, an attack of the munchies hit my colleagues, who promptly ordered plates of chips, onion rings and nachos to share.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t have any of them.  My colleagues questioned why I wasn’t eating anything and this gave me a great opportunity to share a little about M and what he has to live with day to day, which was part of the raison d’etre behind this Awareness week.  They tried to persuade me that I could cheat a little as M would never know, but that defeats my purpose.  I would know and it’s not what I’ve set out to do this week.  It’s about educating others and I feel that I’ve managed that at very least.

Mike will have to avoid beer on his night out, but I’m sure that he will be able to manage that one too.

Here’s our menu for today: