“May Contain Nuts”

Coming from a family of lawyers, I can appreciate the need to throw this label on anything  from a sandwich on the airplane to a snack that boasts it is “peanut free!” but cannot promise it isn’t contaminated with other ‘tree nuts’. For me this allergen tag was almost a joke growing up, trust me, in my head it’s always been just a term of liability, something for litigation, but now it screams red flag. Ever since my time in France, I’ve held myself back from eating certain things (things I’ve always ate) simply because they indicate they ‘may contain nuts’,–  “oh, so you’re telling me this box of cereal I’ve always eaten now contains nuts? Tricked me!” I honestly can’t stand myself right now, it’s really mind over matter, and my mind can’t seem to calm down. I want to go back to the relaxed, logical me, the one who didn’t pick up a chewy nutty protein bar by a company whose other bars had walnuts, but  didn’t blink at a box of cheez-it’s that indicated it was made in a factory that might have tree nuts. It’s a matter of being practical. My dad said to me the other day, “It’s good to be careful, it’s bad to let it consume you.” He’s right.