Meaningful Monday

"I'm sorry. Please forgive me! I don't mean to hold you up," "he said as he struggled to get off the escalator.

I'll admit to it. There have been times when walking or driving behind an older person I've gotten impatient and upset. I've huffed and zoomed around them because I was in a hurry to get nowhere. Perhaps I'm more aware of it now because I see myself there one day soon. Today I saw myself in this old man's shoes and it caused me toslow down, stop and ask for his forgiveness.

He was about five or six people ahead of me. I was in a hurry and saw him as an obstacle. I've seen people get off the end of an escalator and stop dead in their tracks, gather their things and suddenly there's a pile up of angry people behind them. You can't stop an escalator full of people behind you. Like the Energizer bunny, they keep on goin'.

This man was well aware of the challenge. He tried desperately to step aside. Fumbling with his small packages, struggling to gain his footing, youcould see how troubling this was for him. "I'm sorry. Please forgive me! I don't mean to hold you up," he said as he struggled to get off the escalator.

I suddenly saw this in a whole new light. It was like I was watching my future. I felt sorry for him. I felt sick to my stomach because this man was apologizing to everyone, when we should have been helping him and calming his fears.

One by one, people zipped around him. I heard a few angry comments whispered as one lady passed by him.

I saw me.

By the time I got to him he was just about steady on his feet.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know there was more," he said.

"No, sir. No more with me," I said. This really hit me hard. I realized right then how sad it was that the world was in such a hurry. That, of course, included me. But...no more with me. Count me out.

This wonderful man paid his dues. For whatever time he had spent on this earth, he most likely walked many rough roads and too many important miles. Now he should be apologizing for moving slower?

My heart ached as I looked into his eyes. I wished that I could see what he had seen all those years. His face weathered from life itself, was creasedAnd wrinkled. The small soft pockets under his eyes and the gentle lines that curved up and around them told me he had many happy moments, too. Those were traces left behind from laughter and a smiling, happy man.

"My friend, can I help you with those things?" I asked.

Hesitant at first, he finally said, "Well, yes, thank you!"

I placed my hand under his left arm and walked with him a safe distance away from the rush of people.

"So what are you shopping for, sir?"

"Oh, just a little something for my neighbor. She's a young mother raising kids on her own. She's always so nice to me. I thought a box of candy for Mother's Day..." he said, stopping suddenly as he searched his inside pocket of his sport coat.

"Do you need something?" I asked.

"Oh, no. Here. I think I have it right here. I always carry them with me," he said. Then pulling out a hand full of papers he shuffled through them and handed me a business card that read: "John A. Pomicter Friend to all...enemy to no one! I said a prayer today and you were the answer. Thank you!"

"That's for you," he said. "Thanks for stopping tohelp an old man."

"My friend, you helped me. I discovered that I was unhappy with the world and I was part of the problem. Now I'll be part of the solution. No more with me!"

"Then this was meant to be," he said smiling.

"You know God sends me gifts every day and always at least one special person. You were my gift for today! Let's go get some chocolates, my Friend."

-- Author Unknown

Just One Of Those Interruptions

" I refuse to let this rule my life!" Those were the words that went through my mind over and over again as I drove home from a doctor's appointment in 1994. It was at this appointment when I learned for the first time that I am a diabetic. I was so determined that if I have to have this disease, so be it, but it would not rule my life. It wasn't as if I hadn't been warned in advance that there was a chance that this would happen. It was 24 years prior to being diagnosed as a diabetic that I was pregnant with Tersie and the doctor had then told me then that I had Gestational Diabetes. This bit of information explained why my babies were 9 pounds plus when they were born and why I didn't gain any weight while I carried them. He told me that I should have this checked from time to time because usually women that have high blood sugar readings during pregnancy will become type 2 diabetics years down the road. Even with knowing the possibility was there. Even knowing my odds of becoming a diabetic was greater because my grandmother had this disease. Even with knowing all of these things, it still felt as if the wind had been knocked out of me when I was told that it had finally caught up with me.

I had made the appointment with the doctor in 1994 because I was having my yearly Spring bout with pollen allergies and Bronchitis. I complained to him about how just before getting sick I had felt so tired all of a sudden. I told him about how it seemed to take all of the effort I could manage to just put one foot in front of the other and move and so forth. It was a easy call for my doctor, being a diabetic himself, to order some blood work because he suspected Diabetes.

I haven't allowed Diabetes to rule my life. I have had to learn to live with it though. If you are blind you learn how to read braille and walk with a seeing eye dog. When you are hearing impaired, you learn to read lips and use sign language. When you are diabetic, you learn what you need to do to live with diabetes.

It has been 14 years since I was diagnosed. I am still learning things that I didn't know. At first I was only taking the pills to control my sugar levels. Mistakenly, I cut out almost everything that contained sugar. I learned that lesson while standing in the check out line at K-Mart. All of a sudden I broke out in a cold sweat, with a trembling shaky feeling, and dizziness. Fortunately, I had read enough to know that what was happening to me was my blood sugars were bottoming out on me. A candy bar off the impulse rack took care of that one. That was when I learned that it is alright to eat a moderate amount of sweets as long as I am taking the pills for my diabetes to prevent my blood sugars from dropping too much.

The first 6 years of this journey was the toughest for me. I felt so alone in this battle. I had my doctor that I could talk to and the books in the library, but that was about it. That was quite a while before I knew anything about the Internet and the world of support and information that it would contain. I think I was taking at one time or another just about every pill they have available for diabetes. For those 6 years I found that some of the pills that might help with the blood sugar levels, also caused weight gain. I took pills that caused me to have stomach issues of all sorts. I took pills that caused me to retain fluid until I was puffed out like a toad. My blood sugar readings were all over the charts. Seldom were they where they were supposed to be, they were either way too high or dangerously low. I would find myself having bouts of depression. I was tired of taking so many pills and never feeling good.

As fate would have it, my doctor was leaving the area and I started seeing another doctor in the same practice. We discussed how my blood sugar readings were so all over the place and he suggested that I start injections of insulin. He put me on Lantus, which is a time delayed insulin that works over a 24 hour period. With lessons from his nurse on how to give myself injections, I was starting down a new path with this disease. You know the one, the same disease that I swore would not rule my life. I was hesitant about giving myself these shots, but gritted my teeth and stuck that needle in my leg. After a while giving myself the injections has become second nature for me. In no time at all, I started feeling pretty close to the person I used to be. It was wonderful! When I told my doctor how much better I was feeling, I asked him why I wasn't put on insulin six years ago when I was first diagnosed. I was told that many doctors try to put off introducing insulin as a treatment as long as they can because they feel it interferes with the patient being able to lead a normal life. My opinion of this is that insulin does not change my life style in the least............ Blood sugar levels that are out of control does interfere with my life. At that time I was taking my insulin at bed time and 1 pill in the morning.

As time passes, changes have to be made because eventually the body needs more help then what it is getting. Last year I started going to an Endocrinologist. I refer to my visits with her as Diabetes Boot camp and I call her my Drill Instructor. She believes in treating this disease aggressively and that is fine with me. She added Byetta injections do my treatment and sent me to the dietitian for instructions on injecting with the pen which contains the Byetta. I think Byetta is a giant step forward in treatment of diabetes. Not only does it help tremendously, but it doesn't cause weight gain like so many other medications do.

I mentioned before that I am still learning things 14 years after first being diagnosed. I learned two magic numbers while I was with the dietitian that had never been mentioned to me before. Those numbers are 15 and 45. These 2 numbers have the ability to help keep my blood sugar readings within an acceptable range. My nurse (Molly) told me that I will have better control if I try to limit my total carbs for breakfast, lunch and dinner to 45. Snacks between meals and in the evening after dinner should be limited to 15 total carbs. That in itself has been a tremendous help for me in trying to control my blood sugar levels. I will be the first to admit though that I do get lazy from time to time and don't check those carbs.......

When I first started living with diabetes, I mistakenly thought that all I had to do was stay away from the sweets and take my pills. It is so much more than that. One of my favorite vegetables is corn. Imagine my disappointment when I found out that there are enough carbs in a serving of corn to equal a cup good old white granulated sugar. (Place pouting face here). Some Doctors thought I should not eat three meals a day, but instead a bunch of smaller meals (5 to 6). I think most doctors have gotten away from that suggestion. Talk about interfering with a person's life style.

Just to sum things up, the Lantus and Byetta, the two magic numbers and testing on a regular basis has made it possible for me to live with my Diabetes instead of letting it rule my life. I hope that this information has been helpful.

Have a blessed day.......... ~Jo

Happy Anniversay!!

Today is our eighth wedding anniversary.
J.D. and I both agree that it doesn't seem like we have been married any where near eight years. Since the day that J.D. walked into my life I have been experiencing what true love and happiness is all about.


When we decided that we were going to get married and spend the rest of our lives together we needed to then decide where we would get married. At the time we were living in SW Louisiana. J.D.'s earliest years of life was spent in Columbia, Louisiana. He had so many fond memories of his childhood and friendships that he had back then. I wanted to tie our wedding day into those wonderful memories that he had when he thought of Columbia.

After agreeing on the where, I got busy and made arrangements for a Justice Of Peace to marry us. J.D.'s niece by marriage, Sharon Jones and one of his childhood friends who still lived in Columbia, Don Gregory were our witnesses. It had rained all night the night before, but on the day of our wedding the sun was shining and the sky was that beautiful color of blue that you can only find in Louisiana, filled with fluffy white clouds. It was on the river walk of the Ouachita River in Columbia, Louisiana that J.D. and I promised each other our love, devotion and loyalty for the rest of our lives.

We were even fashionably late for our wedding. April 2nd was the first Sunday of the month, as well as the day the clocks were to spring ahead by one hour. We hadn't even given that a thought. Fortunately the Justice of Peace and Don figured that we had forgotten about the time change and waited for us.

I would be telling you a lie if I were to say that we live our lives here on the mountain with never a cross word or disagreement between us. We have a few little disagreements and from time to time. One or the other of us (usually me because I am too tender hearted) will get our feelings hurt, but the important thing is that we love each other enough to not let these little things fester and become big problems. I think J.D. would agree with me when I say that it is always important to be considerate of each other in all that we do.

I look forward to each new day that we have together. J.D. is not only the love of my life, but also my best friend. Since the day that we met, we seem to be so in tune with each other that if one of us thinks it the other can say it in most cases. On more than one occasion J.D. has told me that I scare him...lol

I am so glad that God's plan included our spending the rest of our lives together. I am truly 'Blessed'.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY BABY!

I've Been Tagged

Theresa at My Fairbanks Life has tagged me for this meme. It is different from the others that I have seen circulating. So I am anxious to jump on this one and get busy tagging others. So, here goes:

The meme's rules:

1. Go through your archives and link to five of your favourite posts that you have written.

Link one must be a post about family.
Link two must be a post about friends.
Link three must be a post about yourself.
Link four must be a post about something you love.
Link five can be a post about anything you choose.

2. Tag five other people to do this meme. Two of them must be people you want to get to know better.

Family: On The Go Monday

Friends: Frozen Rain Drops

All About Me: One Of Those Days

Something I Love: Dancing In The Rain

My Choice Freeby: The Tax Man Cometh

The Best Part ..... Tag! You're It!

Aisha at Leaf Float Down River

Gene at Turning The Pages Of Life

Kentucky Woman at Little Drops...Into The Pool Of Life

Pea at Pea's Corner

Hope at Second Time Around

Let me know when you post your meme so I can come read it.

Hugs

As I was visiting blogs this morning (I'm forever playing catch up), I thought about those that stop by my blog on a regular basis and leave a little bit of themselves behind in the form of a comment. I think it is only appropriate that I take some time to let you know how very much I appreciate it. Some days it is just what is needed to keep me writing. The spark, so to speak that ignites the flame under this pot of memories and thoughts that I keep stirring in my mind. I dip out of this pot 'Bits and Pieces' of what is me, to share with those that so generously share their lives with me. It would take me most of the day to name each of you individually. Just know that I appreciate all who visit here. If in some way I have shared something that has helped you in even the smallest of ways, then it is all worth it.

I need to correct the post that I made yesterday concerning the high schools spring band concert. It was indeed a Spring Concert, but it included the Jr High. It was actually the 16th District's Honors Band that performed yesterday. This just absolutely amazes me every year when we go to see them perform. The 16th District is made of the south central counties of Ohio. I believe that is 6 different counties. The Honor Students are selected every year and practice the music that they will perform in little honors groups within their own schools. The weekend of their performance these students from all over the district are brought together for the first time on Friday to have their first practice as the complete Honors Band. Then again on Saturday they practice together. After a two 1/2 day practice and preparation period what evolves on that stage is breath taking. Britt has been a part of the Honors Band since Jr. High. Are we proud of her? You can safely bet on that one.

Wishing you a Blessed Monday..........

~Jo