How quickly we settle into vacation. One day in, with Tom headed to Stellwagen in search of tuna, we settled into our slow paced routine of beach, reading, puzzles, and solitaire. I love how much my children were looking forward to Marshfield. The activities - the games, the beach trip - even the exact puzzles - have become a "tradition."
Many years, the coming on of August causes me to panic. In so many ways I have yet to settle into a summer routine, yet all of a sudden the end is in sight. This summer - one filled with unpredictable weather, a busy work schedule, and a two-week stay away from home - I find myself entering August with a sinking feeling that summer will end and I will not have lived it.
But, in reality, summer is only peaking - there are many days left to be enjoyed. In order to live them just a little more deliberately, and to share them with my children, I challenged each of us to keep a journal for each day in August. The children were each treated to new spiral notebooks and markers to help encourage them and each dutifully filled the first page with color, prose, and drawings detailing our first day of actual away-at-a-beach-house vacation. I promised them I would blog each day this month.
Although the first half of summer has passed by in a (non-documented) flash, the images on my camera tell tales of long, fun-filled days. Rope swings, boat rides, beach excursions. Fun, any way you remember it.
I'm SO honored to be hosted as a "guest blogger" today over at my favorite blog, Six Until Me. Kerri has been an inspiration to me since TJ was diagnosed, and I am still in awe that she would share her space with me. Check it out here!
Thomas had his appointment with our nurse educator Deb last Friday. Both Tom and I were excited for the appointment, because TJ has had what seem like great numbers lately and we were anticipating a fantastic A1C (and what, getting a gold star? I don't know).
The appointment went really well - Deb is pleased with his numbers, pleased with the adjustments we had made ourselves to his insulin/carb ratio and basal rate, pleased in general. We are A+ parents of a diabetic, apparently. (Which is great for me, grade-grubber that I am...) Oh, wait, but what's that....the A1C you ask. Yeah, still 7.9. Still high. Hmmmm....let's recalculate....B-.
Of course, I'm kidding. Joslin doesn't give out grades, and if there were grades in parenting mine would certainly be less than a B- based on lack of bedtime stories read alone. BUT, 7.9, really. We were sure it would be lower.
Deb was quick to let Tom know that 7.9 is a great A1C for a boy who is as active as Thomas. One might not know it from the A1C alone, but we've actually been struggling with lows lately, since TJ has been playing tons of soccer. Deb reminded us that 7.0 - 7.5 would be considered the best range for a sports-nut like TJ, but still....7.9, again?? Couldn't they have just tossed us a 7.7 to keep things interesting, keep our motivation level high?
So...we'll be back at it. Maybe logging, maybe making more adjustments. I might have to actually crack open that copy of Pumping Insulin I ordered from Amazon. But for now, we're in an A1C rut.
Today marks Thomas' two year anniversary with diabetes. Two years of diabetes. Two years of finger sticks, shots, site changes, carb counting, lows, highs, middle of the night wake-ups. Two years of worry, heartache, learning, growing, adjusting.
Two years. Two years that could be two minutes or two thousand years.
It's amazing how this disease can be so much a part of everything, and still a constant question mark, still a steep learning curve.
Too much to say, too many conflicting emotions.
Two.
