Food Shows and "Just at Home"

Getting displays ready for the Food Show


So much to do- so little time!!!

Julie & I in the Simplot Booth

We had 10 booths at the show- whew!

The end of June was a blessed time for us- it's the time Ayla came home! Since Ayla has been home, Ryan and I have been working 'shifts' so one of us is always home with the tinker-bean. It's been great! I usually work from 2pm-6pm though it's been difficult going from a full-time to part-time position and still trying to maintain the same workload. Needless to say, it's been a juggle and I work a lot from home for "free". I know, I'm a sucker!! My employer is lucky I was raised with a good work ethic.....

October is one of the busiest times of the year for work as a Food Broker- it's Food Show Season! It's busy and stressing: I call it, "Organized Chaos". Most people that I work with at the Distributor level know what our family has been going through since February and some haven't. One sales associate with the distributor that I work with made the comment to me that he doesn't see as much of me as usual....of course! I have been at home taking care of Ayla. Here's a quick recap of our conversation,

"Hey Heidi- haven't seen you around much- what have you been doing?"

"I had twins in February and been a little busy. I'm only working part-time so you don't see me as often anymore."

"That's right, I remember that you had girls. So you work a few hours a day?"

"Yep."

"What hours are you working?"

"I work 2-6pm."

"So you're just at work a few hours and mostly at home? Must be nice!"

"Oh I'm a busy gal- having a special baby requires more work than usual."

"Really? Well, you're 'just at home' the majority of the day- how hard can that be?"

This is the point that it gets interesting.....and anybody who knows me knows that sarcastic comments like that don't go unnoticed.....

"You have children, right?"

"Yes, a boy who is six."

"He was probably born at full term with no complications, right? Probably a healthy baby?"

"Yeah, he's great!"

"Do you know what a micro-preemie baby is?"

"Yeah, I know lots of people who have preemies!"

"Not preemies, a Micro-Preemie meaning a baby who's born under 28 weeks and really small."

"Oh- so you stay at home just because you had a micro-preemie baby?"

I'm trying to be patient at this point because most people honestly haven't a clue what it means to have such a small baby.

"Micro-preemie babies usually have complications in areas such as breathing, eating and are fragile. Ayla has needs that require specialized therapy."

"Oh..... sounds scary. But you're just at home, right?"

"Okay, I'm going to pretend that you don't keep saying, "just at home" because staying home with Ayla is not like staying home with a "normal" baby, get it? I don't sit around eating bon-bons and watching TV, she's a lot of work! "

"Got it."

Our actual conversation was longer (and he really didn't get it) but the point being that most people have a difficult time comprehending why we can't leave Ayla with a sitter or at a daycare and why she isn't doing what a 'normal' baby can do at her age. It gets tiresome 'defending' her at times....especially when we tell them she is almost 8 months old but 4 months adjusted. I try to be patient but 2 days of "defending" Ayla has placed me in a sticky mood...I felt like a broken record explaining the same things over and over. Wouldn't it be cool if Oprah did a show on real micro-preemie babies? I think perhaps 2 days of non-stop food show chaos has finally tapped my brain! ha!