The pros and cons of being a (mostly) gluten free family

I am not an optimist. I typically see the worst in situations and have to be led by the nose to find the silver lining. It took being married to my wonderful, "the world is black and white," no-nonsense engineer who keeps me on the straight and narrow for me to see that about myself. It is not always a good quality to have, unless you just like being negative and cynical, and it is not one that I plan to pass along to my girls.

Which is why I like them to watch movies like Mary Poppins and Annie and want someone to add Pollyanna to our collection. Good birds, those three.

Anywho, I get frustrated with the whole gluten free thing occasionally, and so I wanted to write this out to have for myself and for anyone else struggling with the same thoughts. Because sometimes us perfectionists make it all look really easy. But it's not.

Pros:
1. We have two healthy, happy children, one of whom just happens to have Celiac disease.
2. We all pay more attention to what is going into our bodies than we did before.
3. Eating food is less of a pastime for us.
4. We are more involved in the planning and preparing of food, which has made me a better cook. And most of what we eat is homemade, from scratch, minimally processed, etc. So I feel more connected to what I am feeding my family.
5. I have become better friends with people in the gluten free (and other allergen free) community whom I may not have otherwise.
6. It has made me see my child differently, and appreciate her more as an individual than I did before.
7. I spend more time at home, and less money at restaurants or on fast food.
8. I found out that I do have the gene, which is good to know for later on in life if I develop symptoms.
9. Kate is more invested in what she is eating, she doesn't just blindly put food into her mouth. She asks if everything and every restaurant and every person is also gluten free.
10. Those of us in our family who can still eat gluten are able to appreciate things like a soft hamburger or hotdog bun or a breakfast taco on a flour tortilla. It's the little things.

Cons:
1. I'm constantly scrutinizing Kate's poop and how her tummy feels/sounds.
2. Kate has learned to tell people that things she doesn't want to eat are not gluten free, even if they are (i.e. cantaloupe, watermelon).
3. It can be expensive, especially when you ruin an entire batch of baking by leaving out or adding too much xanthan gum. (Curse you, xanthan gum! Thank you for your existence, but curse you for being expensive and necessary to every baked good I now make!)
4. No more Chick Fil A playdates. This could also be a pro.
5. Church communion: some people intinct their bread, which leaves huge floating chunks of bread in the wine. Not GF. We'll figure that out, minor hiccup.
6. When Kate does get "glutened" or is just not feeling well, I feel like I have failed to protect her. Even though my logical self knows that it happens and I am doing my best, I still beat myself up.
7. No convenience meals, pretty much ever.
8. Visiting out of town family overnight is a HUGE undertaking. Planning ahead, packing food and cooking implements, making sure their not gluten-free houses are safe for Kate. Which, I'm sure, is not fun for them either when I come into their house and tell them what to do.
9.Trying not to hurt people's feelings when I explain the disease and they don't understand that it's not just that she can't eat wheat. And that just because something says gluten free doesn't really mean that it is. Which makes me look like a lunatic. And that having a gluten free menu at a restaurant does not necessarily mean it is safe. Which makes me look like a control freak. Worrying what other people think is exhausting, maybe I should stop?
10. I can't think of one right now, maybe I'm tipped over a little to the optimist side. Is it possible?