Looking at the calendar this morning I noticed it was National Strawberry Day and it’s not exactly a joyous occasion in my home. I LOVED strawberries as a kid and as a young adult and I still do, but unfortunately I have somehow developed an allergy to the darn things.

Summer is when it’s most difficult because as I walk around the produce department I can smell those sweet, delicious strawberries that look so ripe and, I know, probably taste so good especially with ice cream. Sadly, one bite and I’m off to the pharmacy looking for Benadryl or, like the last incident, I’m off to the hospital. What happens? I burst into the most intense, itchy, red hives you’ve ever seen. I actually look like a strawberry. Even the front desk girl in the emergency ward looked at me like I was from some strange planet where everybody is very red and puffy. At least I hope it was because of the hives I was experiencing and not just the way I look in general!

What’s strange about the whole thing is that I ate all kinds of strawberries as a kid and never had a reaction..and I ate a lot of them! This reaction just started a few years ago as a minor thing and slowly progressed into a worse reaction. I can be around strawberries, I can touch them, and I can smell them, but I can’t eat those wonderful berries, so I just avoid them now in all forms.

I’ll let you celebrate National Stawberry Day with all the strawberries you can handle. Strawberry ice cream, strawberry cheese cake, strawberries and cake, strawberry milkshakes, strawberry yogurt, and, of course, strawberry wine! Bon appetit.