u/trolldoll420

I got a meal train request for a PTA board member buddy’s wife who is doing 6 months of chemo. I signed up for 1 meal but would like to do more. I enjoy cooking for other people but she’s following a plant-based keto diet so I’m not sure what someone in her situation would actually tolerate and like. I’m used to cooking very meat and carb-focused meals for my family and am mostly vegetarian myself but not keto. This meal is for her, her husband, and 2 sons (age 14 and 12 I think?).

Obviously I’ll ask her husband for input on her preferences closer to the date (I’ve only met his wife once and he was a bit of a mentor to me so he’s my line of communication) but I was wondering if this community could give me some insider advice on what someone undergoing chemo actually can tolerate and also some questions i should have him pass on so I can make a care package for her. I believe it’s aggressive breast cancer treatment but that was just something I was told by a friend. The wife is 50 and is a super beautiful hairstylist with an athletic lifestyle (they own a gym and our kids also attend a Christian school, fwiw) so I feel like those are things I should keep in mind for a care package. I’d say my budget for the care package is like $150. I already ordered a Barefoot Dreams quarter-zip on sale at Nordstrom for $50, but I have a month until I’m scheduled for the meal. I don’t want to be patronizing or get her repetitive things she might’ve been given by everyone trying to be thoughtful. I love to give gifts. Would something like a book and a diamond art craft be a good idea? Would diamond art be a terrible idea? I don’t know and need help!! I want to have 5 questions to ask to plan a perfect gift for her.

For the past year, my son starts crying the second he doesn’t see me at pickup (at school, at Sunday school, sports, etc). In the 5.5 years he’s been attending school, I’ve only been late 1x when I was sick and slept through my alarm but he got to go to after school care and said it was the best day ever and begged to go back. I felt TERRIBLE (and still do) about it, but that happened almost a year before his pickup panic started. For example, if I’m not in the front 3 cars at pickup, he thinks I’m not coming and starts crying. Getting one of those spots requires me to get to his school 20 minutes before it gets out. If I’m not the first parent at Sunday school pickup, he cries. If I take too long in a public bathroom, he cries. This is really unsustainable!

I’ve promised him I’m never not going to come get him. In the past, I could arrive anytime in the pickup window and he’d be fine. What should I do to help him get through this?