Out of the mouth of an allergic child

My six year-old boy has quite a few allergies--some life-threatening. Last summer, my husband received a hornet sting while mowing the lawn. He came into the house very uncomfortable. Hives appeared quickly and he said he felt like he had swollen glands. Three Benadryl later, things eventually calmed down, but it was a rough couple of hours. Since then, I've encouraged him to get to a doctor and ask for an Epi-Pen prescription.

Finally, at a doctor visit today, he got that prescription. When I told our son, his face lit up and he said, "Ohhh! Daddy is going to have Epi-Pen's, too?!"

"Yes," I replied. "Does this make you happy?"

"Yeah!" he said, "I love it when someone in my family has allergies!"

I don't know if people with non-allergic kids will totally get what this means to this little boy. Here is an only child, with two seemingly non-allergic parents and relatives, who is surrounded my mostly non-allergic kids. He is an extremely good sport about it, but tonight was a reminder of just how lonely he must feel sometimes. And so, I'm happy for him, too.