Today I celebrate the nineth Thanksgiving since my celiac diagnosis. I will enjoy a wonderful feast including deliious celiac-friendly versions of all my holiday favorites. I’ll even be having gluten free ravioli stuffed with pumpkin. I have so much more to be thankful for:

I just returned from a gluten free vacation. I enjoyed delicious and appropriate meals without going that far out of my way to find them. My non-celiac wife enjoyed the meals almost as much as I did. One dinner included gluten free pizza, a fantastic gourmet salad, and celiac-friendly draft beer. Click here if you would like to read more about that memorable meal.

I have no celiac-related medical bills. Sure, I complain about the high cost of gluten free food. But those costs are very minor compared to the medical expenses of most people livng with chronic diseases.

I will eat well this Thanksgiving and so will my guests. The guests at our holiday table this year will be aware that we are serving gluten free food but their taste buds will not suggest that they are eating “diet food”. There will be ample options for those who do not need to live gluten free.

I will use gluten free wafers for communion this Sunday. I’m glad to belong to a church that provides this blessing. It is one more example of how much easier the celiac lifestyle has become. Would this have been possible ten years ago.

I am highly motivated NOT to cheat. I make mistakes, of course, but simply thinking about the  pain and embarassment of a gluten reaction conquers temptation. I’m glad that I have relatively severe case of celiac disease. It keeps me honest.

I know what’s wrong. I was in denial for at least three years, but my diagnosis came about within two months after I finally sought help. The vast majority of celiacs are not so lucky. I am reasonably certain that my father suffered from celiac disease all his life but never sought medical attention.

My family is totally supportive. Even my five year old granddaughter (who knows a lot about food sensitivity since she lactose intolerant and allergic to peanuts) keeps tabs on me. I think that much of this has to do with the fact that they watched me “fall apart” in the months before my diagnosis. Here again, severe celiac disease seems to be better than a minor case that can be ignored.

I’m blessed by this blog. It keeps my seventy year old mind alive, it helps me control my celiac disease, and augments my retirement income. I’ve come to think of all of you as friends.

Everything I know about a gluten free Thanksgiving is summarized on my power page “Gluten Free Thanksgiving”. Click here or click on the tab at the top of the page.

I’ve published versions of this article every year since this website was born in 2002. Next year, I would love to include some of your ideas. Send me an e-mail at gfceliac@gmail.com or leave a comment at the end of this article.