There are a few holidays that I truly enjoy. They’re some pretty awesome times of the year where fun abounds. I love Halloween and St. Patrick’s Day.

And then there are holidays that I enjoy for food alone. Those food holidays are very few and far between. Thanksgiving has historically been one of those holidays for me.

I do love a traditional Thanksgiving meal. I love almost everything about the food. Though, honestly, I could go without pumpkin pie and sweet potatoes. But I love everything else.

However, this year is going to be drastically different.

This is the first year where I’ve been gluten-free. This year I can’t really eat everything that I love. I can’t have stuffing and gravy. I can’t have the green bean casserole that I love. While I would love that my family would actually attempt a full gluten-free Thanksgiving dinner… I know that they’re not going to make that big of a change to the dinner for just one person.

So, instead of eating what everyone else will be eating (or trying to eat it and making myself sick for days afterwards), I’m going to be eating something different.

While I like the sound of what I’m eating. I feel as though I’m missing out on something I love. This is the first time that I’ve felt like I’m being excluded because of my dietary restrictions.

And, I’m going to admit it, it makes me quite sad that I can’t eat the traditional Thanksgiving meal.

Watching all the ads about Thanksgiving food and all the cooking shows that are focused on all those comfort foods that I love. I have to admit, I feel left out. I can no longer enjoy the food of the day that I love.

And now, I’m at the point of where do I go from here?

All I can figure is that I need to mourn that I can no longer partake of what I love. I could cheat and eat everything, but what would that do for me? What would that do for my health? Since we’re still not 100% sure if I have Celiac’s Disease or not, I can’t take too many risks.

These are the time of year that make it difficult for me to eat. I want to eat everything that I can’t have.

All I have to do is remind myself that I have 2 more months of this… only 2 more months. If I just tell myself that, maybe it’ll make it better. By the time Thanksgiving rolls around next year, I may have properly mourned not being able to eat the normal holiday meals that I love.