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Backseat Conversations…Ally says “I tell myself if I just tell you how I’m feeling, then maybe you won’t ask me all the time…How are you feeling? How are you feeling? How are you feeling?”
Do I really ask her THAT much? Oy! I need to work on that.
A - “I’m kind of getting better at telling my teachers when I feel low. “
Why do you think that is hard for you?
A - “I’m embarrassed, and I don’t want to interrupt the class, and I don’t want other kids to hear me.”
(I didn’t realize that this was still uncomfortable for her. I knew that it was very hard for her in 1st grade. And she had the sweetest, least intimidating teacher possible! But I thought that we had gotten past that. Last year, she did tell me that having the CGM made it easier for her because she could blame it on the CGM alarming, and not something she was choosing to do. I feel really badly that she takes this so personally and that it is hard for her. How in the world do I make her understand that she doesn’t have to feel embarrassed about telling her teacher that she feels low?)
A - “Well, I am shaky right now, by the way.” BG check 70.
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A - “You know Mom, when I was at camp we had to measure out all of our food. They had a good idea and used a ¼ cup measuring cup so you didn’t always have to take such a big serving.”
What if you wanted to eat more than ¼ cup of something?
A - “Oh well, that was easy…we just had to add the ¼ cups together.”
But you don’t know how to add fractions do you?
A - “Mom! I don’t know how to add fractions, I’m only going to be in 3rd grade! This is what I did…I know that 2 – ¼ cups is ½. I also know that 4- ¼ cups is a whole cup. So I just told them how much I ate.”
Sweetie, that is adding fractions and you didn’t even know it!
A - “Yeah, well the kids that didn’t know how to do that just said that they ate 2 – ¼ cups of mac-n-cheese or whatever. And that made me think of an idea. Can we take that camp survey again? I want to tell them that they need to have little pieces of paper and pencils on the tables because sometimes it was hard to remember to tell them all that we ate.”
(At camp, they bloused after meals. As I said in my camp post, I was not crazy about this at first, but taking into consideration that they were serving themselves and eating foods that they may not eat regularly, I think it was a good plan. Although, I am surprised that the kids just had to remember what they ate and then report that to the doctor who was administering the insulin. I like giving them responsibility, but for the younger ones I would feel better knowing that someone is helping them to “add fractions”.)
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Conversations about a BG log…
The day’s numbers looked like this…123, 188, 132, 109, 129. I don’t know about you, but for us that is a success!! After soccer practice, Ally reconnected her pump and linked to her sensor…109.
A - “Mom, my numbers have been really good today. I’ll try to do it again tomorrow.”
So cute…and yet it made me wonder if my frustrations in high #s or roller-coaster days shows on my face and comes across to her as a disappointment in her. While I was feeling bitter-sweet about this conversation, I’m glad that we had it. I definitely need to do some reflecting on this one and make sure that she understands that the numbers reflect diabetes, not her! Therefore, how I feel about the numbers reflects how I feel about diabetes, again not how I feel about her!
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Conversations on the lake….The blue quotes are something typical of what my brother and sister-in-law might say.
The pink quotes are ours.
Ready to head out on the boat, “Did you put drinks in the cooler? Did you pack Ally’s Juicy Juice? Are the towels in your bag? How about sunscreen? Do we have a syringe just in case? (a lesson learned from No Delivery, No Way! ) Did you throw in the glucagon?
Before swimming, “Do the kids all have their life jackets on? Do you have a plug for Ally’s site?”
After swimming for about an hour, “Have you reapplied the kids’ sunscreen? Did you pre-bolus Ally for missed basal?”
While riding along on the boat, enjoying the wind in our hair, kids on the tube, “Oh no! Hold everything! Ryan’s hat just blew off his head into the lake! Turn around let’s see if we can find it.” “Oh shit! Ally’s site just came out from bouncing all around in the tube. Turn around…we need to go get another infusion set.”
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I hope that we continue to have these conversations…each one teaches me a little something.
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As a side note, I wrote this post while we were at the lake. I was by myself, enjoying some peace and quiet on the deck...when all of a sudden a very large bird decided to do some "fly-bys" and then perch on the deck railing. It was HUGE! He just sat there and stared at me...I was afraid to move!
In case the picture that I snapped, while shaking in my flip flops, does not give you the full picture, check out this picture that I found on Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia. That is exactly what I saw flying by me several times before he decided to land on the deck! Look at that wing span!!
I researched the buzzard that I saw and accoring to http://www.ehow.com/ it is known as a turkey vulture. This is the description of its size.
An adult turkey vulture is a big bird, measuring up to 32 inches from head to tail. When the wings are fully extended, it has a wingspan of up to six feet. The average healthy adult weighs as much as six pounds.And with that, my blog post came to an end because 1) my fingers were shaking too much to type and 2) I completely lost all of the thoughts that were previously in my head.
Liked the update!
ReplyDeleteawww this is so sweet. It made my heart break a little, since I was 15 when I was diagnosed I didn't have to go through that. I hope she can learn to become more comfortable but she sounds so mature!!! Adding fractions!! That's amazing!! She is sooo smart!!
ReplyDeleteJustin gets aggravated because I ask how he's feeling all the time. One day he was like... UGH, STOP ASKING ME THAT!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI love the convo of you and then your bro and sis in law really shows how different our worlds can be. Missed you!
ReplyDeleteOh wow Misty - you described exactly what happens when my daughter's BGL's are all over the place! After reading your post I am absolutely certain that it must show in my face when her levels have been frustratingly high - and to her it must seem like I'm upset with her - but of course I am not upset with her - I'm upset and frustrated with this stupid disease!
ReplyDeleteDefinitely going to have to work on that too!
you crack me up - sounds like things are going along pretty well. It always feels like there is more to work on with d in terms of making sure our kiddos are safe, without them feeling too overwhelmed by it...caring about the numbers, without them knowing we care about the numbers, and remembering every little detail when out on fun adventures.
ReplyDeleteGlad you got a little moment to yourself, however that bird would have freaked me out, too!
That first convo really got to me. I haven't given that much thought b/c Joe just tells it like it is. He is not shy or embarassed about speaking up (at times this has been a humbling experience for me as his mother). My heart ached a bit for her (and you).
ReplyDeleteThe updates were fantastic. Thank you!!! Missed you! xo
What a bright young lady! Love it!
ReplyDeleteMatthew doesn't like a big deal made out of lows at school either. It's hard to see them have to deal with such issues.....
Good to hear from you again! She reminds me of my Natalie. I feel for her too not wanting to speak up. I was the same at her age. How hard to have to be in that situation.
ReplyDeleteLove the conversation with the family...holds so true the differences in our lives.
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