“Marmaduke!”

With that one bellowed exclamation, my 40-year-old brain was taken on a trip back to the days of childhood when pouring over the Sunday morning comic strips with my older and only brother, Glen, brought happy time.

Sitting in the movie theater Saturday, seeing Marmaduke, the main character of the comic strip which has delighted readers of newspapers since the 1950s, come to life, I was overwhelmed with a mixture of emotions - happiness and sadness.

Happy to see a movie where there was no foul language, no killing, no death and where dogs rule - hey, the canine in my life has influenced my thinking. I was also a little sad to realize that childhood is no longer.

What 40-year-old woman wouldn’t be sad to realize that childhood is no longer?

But, no, that wasn’t why I was sad.

It was that people all around me were scarfing down candy, soft drinks and buttered popcorn, and there I sat with nothing.

Getting buttered popcorn and Gummy Bears or a box of Junior Mints with an ice-cold Coca-Cola is a tradition for most moviegoers and until recently, i.e. Saturday, was something I looked forward to.

That was until I got the news that diet was to change. Sure, I have gained at least 45 pounds in 10 years, and sure, I have had ovarian cancer and battle thyroid disorder, but I still had been able to enjoy my popcorn, my fast food and Coca-Colas.

So, why, now, was I going to have to go gluten-free and lactose-free?

And what does gluten-free and lactose-free mean? Does that mean I get my gluten and lactose for free?

Those terms mean that foods and beverages you drink need to be free of those ingredients.

Do you know how many things are made with gluten? Or lactose?

I visited two grocery stores this weekend to start the new healthy living diet with my list of gluten-free foods. After about an hour of squinting and picking up cans, putting cans down, I gave up.

Standing in front of the gluten-free section of one store, I must have looked a little lost because an older couple stopped me.

“Are you OK?”

“Yeah, just trying to figure out what I can eat and not eat. I am new to the gluten-free diet,” I said, pointing to a box of gluten-free pasta.

The man laughed. His wife turned to him, “Hush, Hugh.”

I wasn’t sure what to say then or what to do. She turned to me and said, “Honey, it is OK. We are gluten-free too. In fact, there are a lot of people in town who are doing the gluten-free diet. Some are weight-challenged, like you, and others are just intolerant.”

“So, is it a club or something? A support group?” I asked, anxious for any sort of help.

Again, the man laughed.

“Hugh,” said the woman. “No, no. No support group. I just know who is on it.”

“How can you tell?” I asked.

The man answered, “People in the grocery store just like you, with that dumb look on your face, like you are lost.”

“Hugh!”

“She asked!” he replied.

I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Here, do you know how to use the computer and look up stuff on the Internet?” the woman asked.

I bit my lip and nodded.

“Here, look up this website. The Internet is an amazing resource for people who need to eat gluten-free foods,” the lady said, handing me a piece of paper on which she had written a web address.

I walked away, pushing my buggy, still confused about gluten-free foods, but a little wiser.

The man named Hugh had whispered in my ear as I said my good-byes.

“Don’t stress, just stay away from anything that tastes good,” he advised.

Sniff, OK, so maybe I do miss my childhood - buttered popcorn, fast food, candy and ice cream was OK back then.

I think I am changing my mind about the excitement of turning 40.