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I think I broke a Girl Scout

I didn’t mean to. I really, really didn’t. I have nothing against Girl Scouts (now that I’m out of grade school). I think it’s kind of adorable when they actually go door-to-door selling their little cookies – way better than sending a parent in to the office/theater/classroom with a sign-up sheet. And when I could still eat their fiendishly addictive little delights, I did, often with wild abandon….

The problem is that I’ve gotten older, wiser, and (more importantly) intolerant of gluten. I hate being intolerant of anything, but there you go – gluten and I don’t get on, and it’s a week-long reaction process that I really prefer to avoid.

So when waist-high sales reps appear at my door trying to sell me poisonous-goodness, I say a polite no.

Ahem.

Enter the waist-high ragamuffin: timid knock, slightly-large-glasses that magnify her eyes to owl-like proportions, and an order sheet.

She starts her sales pitch by saying nothing, momentarily stunned by the presence of an Unknown Adult. (I feel so old….)

“You’re a Girl Scout, aren’t you?” I prompt.

Cue mute nodding.

“I’m so sorry, hon, but I’m allergic to gluten and you don’t sell anything I can eat. You’re doing a great job, and I think you’ll do great at my neighbor’s.”

Silence.

, say thank you and Have a Good Evening. Let’s keep going.” says the helpful father.

“Actually, this was out last house.

Harsh.

I am suddenly staring at a waist-high, cold-eyed sales executive, willing to go to any lengths to close the deal – including heart-wrenching guilt.

, it’s ok.” Says dad, then to me, “She doesn’t understand, I’ll explain it to her.”

Munchkinoo stomps off my front porch, but not before giving me a look that says, “You’re the one who ran over my puppy last summer.”

Noooooo!!!! I should have bought a box for someone else. I should have paid for a box and told her to tell the neighbor that someone bought then a box. I should have BOUGHT THE STINKING’ COOKIES. I am going to hell. I’m a not-cookies-from-children-horrible-mean-person.

“I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean… I mean, it’s ok, you did great! I mean, I’m so sorry!” I’ve been reduced to sputtering nonsense by a child. To her dad, I ask, “Can you please tell her it’s nothing personal, it’s just, you know, poison? I’m so sorry! I don’t mean to destroy your daughter’s hopes and dreams. I’m so sorry!”

“No, no, it’s ok. I’ll explain it to her. She just doesn’t understand. It’s fine. She’ll be fine.”

This happened literally 27 minutes ago. I’m still traumatized. I don’t know why I didn’t think of a better solution while the situation was in my face. I could buy the gosh darned cookies for someone else and give them as a gift, but here’s the thing: I WANT TO EAT THE COOKIES. I freakin’ love a Thin Mint (current winner of the Most Misleading Name Ever – they do not keep you thin, but they’re delicious frozen), and Samoas…. oh, the Samoas….. I WANT a Samoa. (Is there a singular on that? I’ve never eaten but one of those fiendishly amazing little bundles of crunchy-sticky-is-that-really-chocolate joy. Diabetic coma with toasted coconut? Don’t mind if I do…)

My point here is, not gonna buy ’em, because I’m not sure I can resist ’em. Those little buggers have ruined many the diet for me, and I’m currently on a diet where I don’t get the occasional “day off” or “oops!” because, like, poison. Like, hard-to-breath, heart-pounding, instant-migraine, intense-joint-pain fading to a week of arthritis with constipation, major water retention (you’d think those two would cancel, but no), and foggy-brain-what-did-you-just-say badness.

So….

Dear Girl Scouts of America,

Either consider an allergy friendly cookie choice (ideally made in a dedicated area), or give your little waist-high sales people tools. Form a charity. Give them the ability to look me in the eye (or shoe, as the case may be) and say, “I’m so sorry! Would you like to donate a box of cookies to a children’s shelter/hospital in your area?”

Do something, so they don’t look at me like I just killed a puppy. Please. I’m begging you.

I know, it was my choice to not buy the cookies and I should be prepared to live with the results of that choice. But I didn’t choose my allergens. Please, have the grace to give me an easy out, rather than making feel like I’m not only a freak who can’t eat the yummy goodness, but also the cold-hearted miser who won’t support a child learning Valuable Life Skills(tm).

Thank you,
me

Missa wants a cookie…. :( Darn sales urchins….

7 Comments

  1. JoAnne
    JoAnne January 7, 2012

    LOL! I’m a GS leader, and we hear all the time about allergies and diets. It’s no big deal. Although our GS council does have a charity just like you suggest – Operation Sweet Treat, where you can buy a box of cookies to be sent to a soldier.

  2. Caitlin
    Caitlin January 8, 2012

    Our service unit also does a similar charity (Troops to Troops). I think it’s becoming an option in more areas :)

    • missa
      missa January 9, 2012

      Hey, Caitlin and JoAnne –
      LOVE THAT! Next time you’re doing your cookie drives, email me a PayPal invoice for a box of thin mints and a box of Samoas (both of you!) to be sent to a soldier who needs a taste of home! Thank you!

  3. Scott
    Scott January 9, 2012

    Knowing about that allergy makes me wince a bit at the diet of pasta dinners and leftover bagels we engaged in at the house on Stoughton.

    • missa
      missa January 9, 2012

      Scott-
      Hey, you! Like I had any idea? I only just found out about the peanut thing then. Besides, I did make a mean bagel back in the day. *laugh* Remember the naan? Or how between the two of us we baked so much that Julia’s flower arrangements started fermenting? Good times…. ;)
      Mail me privately sometime and catch me up on the last, um, 15 years? (missa (at) sempstress.org)

  4. Ava Trimble
    Ava Trimble January 20, 2012

    Aw! I hope you and the girl scout have both recovered from the experience by now! It’s really too bad they don’t have a gluten-free option. But if you’re feeling kitcheny, there are some promising recipes out there for faux girl scout cookies, including some that are specifically gluten-free. In case it helps…

    This recipe for Thin Mints is from a GF baking blog I quite like: http://glutenfreecanteen.com/2011/03/03/gluten-free-ultra-minty-thins/

    This one is from a general baking blog, not a dedicated GF one, but the recipe itself is GF:
    http://bakingbites.com/2011/06/homemade-girl-scout-cookies-gluten-free-thin-mints/

    From another GF blog: http://glutenfreerecipebox.com/gluten-free-girl-scout-cookies

    And this is a non-GF recipe for samoas, but it wouldn’t be that hard to make the cookie part of the recipe GF, or use a different shortbread cookie recipe: http://bakingbites.com/2008/01/homemade-girl-scout-cookies-samoas/

    I, uh, collect a lot of links in my Google bookmarks. :D

    • missa
      missa January 22, 2012

      Ava – Holy Crow, lady! You do like a link! :) Thank you for sharing all those…. Maybe I’ll be enjoying frozen Thin Mints after digging in the garden this summer, and it will be all your fault! ;) I can’t wait… Gawd, I miss a Thin Mint. Sometimes, I really, really miss the days of being able to wolf down three zillion beautiful, amazing, spine-tingling calories in five minutes flat. (Seriously, I actually do miss that. Especially when they’re frozen. This is why the mints are thin, and the me is not…. ;) )

      Caitlin and JoAnne – thanks to you ladies, when another little wide-eyed girl scout showed up on the door step this afternoon, I knew enough to ask, “Do you do Sweets or Soldiers or Troupes for Troops?” I mean, the girl scout gave me the blank look of horror that children give Adults With Questions(tm), but her mum was all, “Oh, yes, that’s the white box, .” “Really?! That’s fantastic, because I hate looking into those wide little eyes and saying, You just take your little boxes of delicious poison next door… Can I give you cash?”

      So, like, everybody wins! :) I love that, so thank you for giving me the right words!

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