Wrestling with food allergies

I know. It doesn't seem to have much to do with teaching band, does it, but bear with me. I think I can make a corny connection between food allergies and music that hides the seriousness of the problem (the allergies I mean, not the music) but also has a silver lining.

The problem is half my brain these days is trying to wrap itself around the fact that my dear daughter, all of thirteen months old, is allergic to milk, eggs, and probably wheat.

One by one the dominoes fall--the next possible allergies are to soy, nuts, seeds, and shellfish. And the basic gist of it all is, when you get right down to brass tacks, is that I have to keep her alive and healthy until she can do it for herself.

When you look at ingredient lists of packaged food at the store, you may or may not see "contains wheat, eggs, and dairy" or some such. Many packaged foods (and let's admit it, a busy working mom like me doesn't have time to cook all day, so we must occasionally rely on packaged food) contain hidden milk ingredients such as casein, whey, and other things you would never ever guess were milk but are.

Did I mention the epi-pen I carry with me everywhere?

I have reason to believe that my dear daughter's small size is related to her diet and the restrictions to it thereof. By now she would be drinking whole milk, which is full of brain-nurturing fat, and downing scrambled eggs with the rest of us on Saturday mornings. She'd be fatter, and probably taller.

I am trying so hard to maintain a positive outlook on this. Her development, for those of you wondering, is right on track. I know because I have another one and I've been reading.

Anyway, ok, so to change the subject precipitously: in my 6th and middle-high band classes I'm missing very important sections that are hardily represented in any self-respecting concert band score. The sixth grade class is missing low brass--let's be honest, any kind of brass except for trumpets. The middle-high band is missing saxophones and French horns, and forget anything oblong and pitched low, such as a bassoon or bass clarinet.

So when I go to the files to look at music, I always have to keep this in mind: Are all the parts covered? For example, is the main melody covered by enough instruments at all times that I a) have and b) the kids can play? (The flute players are a little weak this year.) I look at harmonies and countermelodies: are they covered? Are the notes too high for the semi-cooked beginner clarinet and trumpet players?

We can't play music in the middle-high where only the saxes have the melody for a good chunk. We can't play music in the sixth grade that requires low brass.

It's the same for recipes: I can't make such-and-such for baby sister because it has milk or eggs in it, so is there another recipe where all the parts can be covered, so to speak, with alternate ingredients such as rice milk, applesauce, or another alternative? And now, wheat. What doesn't have wheat in it??

It begins to feel like a jigsaw puzzle after a while, with many strategic pieces missing. The challenge is to find a workable solution within the parameters I have. And would a workable solution lead me to answers I hadn't thought of before, or force me to be creative? Better yet, force the students to be creative?

Sometimes it makes me want to sit down and feel overwhelmed. But I'm not in this business of band-teaching and child-rearing to stay overwhelmed for long; my logical mind wants to come up with a solution.

I'll keep you posted.