The first day of the year

My mother used to warn us to be careful of what we were doing on the first day of the year because that would likely be what we were doing all year long. I spent the New Year with my son and his family and caught this wonderful moment. The sadness of it was while watching this wonderful father/son moment, I was reminded that we were on a military base and the rareness was because my son has missed three of the last five years of his son's life. How many more of these times were sacraficed during that time?

Snow for Christmas?

When are you going to hear me? This is the deep south and we don't do snow here!

Getting home these days

Yesterday's commute home was an epic disaster that I hope never to repeat. A surprise ice storm struck at rush hour and had me and a million other commuters sitting stranded in a traffic nightmare. I don't think that I went above 10 miles an hour the entire 20 mile trek home. My first option, my regular route, stopping by the gas station was tharwted when after an hour and a half of inching along, we were told that the road was closed and to please turn around and return to Shallowford Road. I probably should have turned down Sandy Plains, but decided to go straight to Trickum. Trickum was backed up the entire way and I was only going about 2 miles an hour and running out of gas. I made the decision to turn on Jamerson and head toward Hames, but they had closed Hames so I had to go back to Jamerson and make my way to Highway 5. Highway 5 was just as bad as Trickum, but there was a gas station that I could fill up at. After two hours on Highway 5 I began to hear reports of road closings especially at bridges and began to devise a way to get to my house. I started calling friends and asking if certain roads were passable or not, and using this method decided that my best bet was to take 5 to 92 and then return to Trickum. It took another hour and a half to do this. 92 and Trickum were full of icy patches, but passable. I did pretty well until I got near enough to see my house, then there was a huge ice patch that covered the road and my drive way. I slid off the road, blocking other cars. I was able to get my car back on the road and into my drive way, blocking it, but I couldn't get my car into my parking spot. I decided to forget it because nobody needed to go anywhere anyway, and left my car there. When I got to the house, my brother came out asking where my car was. I told him that it was blocking the driveway and he managed to get it up out of the way. My normal hour commute took four and a half hours. Never, never want to be in that position again.

So tonight I need to go the the obesity doctor after work and then to church to set up the videos for the candelight service on Christmas eve. I won't be home until late again. I really just want to curl up in my pj's with a blanket and sleep.

Top of Mind

I scalded my hand twice today, and both times I got upset about it, uttering a curse each time. I was standing in line in the cafeteria getting hot water in my Tervis Tumbler for tea. The water splashed back and burned my hand. I know that there are many worse things and that for the most part it is silly to get upset by a slight burn. The people who were standing around me were surprised by my reaction. I understand this too. But for them a small scald isn't such a big deal. It only stings for a while and heals fast. Not so for me. My arm has no lymphatic drainage system since the axillary lymph nodes were removed. It has left me with a condition called Lymphedema. The scalds have cause lymphatic fluid to rush to my hand and there are no lymph nodes to drain it out. My hand will be swollen like this for a week or so, and because lymphatic fluid is made of protein, the dirty protein stays in my hand threatening to become a serious infection. This upsets me. One more thing to keep cancer on the top of my mind. I used to wonder why people who had cancer always thought about it, even like me, years later. It is because we are left with these constant reminders.

The Diet

The medication isn't bad. I was told that it makes quite a few people sick, and I was thinking chemo. What I got wasn't even morning sickness, and it only lasted for a few days. But the medication definately makes me not hungry, and when I am hungry, it's more of a "maybe I should eat something, naahh..." type thing. The diet wouldn't be bad either if it wasn't the holidays. Not being hungry makes me not care that I can only eat such a limited amount of things. But because it's the holiday, there are more parties than I care to think about. I've been to two already this week and still have three more to go to before Sunday. Then there is one on Sunday and I was invited to another one a week from Saturday. I like going to the parties to be around everyone, but the food is challenging. The first party I went to was a buffet called "Chef's Table" and it was very good; plenty to choose from and stick to my diet. But the dessert was an issue. I took a nibble or two of a few of them, but I didn't eat the whole thing. The second party had absolutely nothing for me or the other five diabetics and celiacs who were there to eat. I ended up taking sushi and gyro wheels apart to eat the insides. I'm afraid the one today and the one on Saturday are going to be the exact same thing. Lot's of simple carbs and nothing else. I might buy myself a bag of nuts from the vending machine. Is that rude, to take your own food to a party? Probably.

The Holidays

The holidays started this year with a very nice trip to meet my daughter-in-law's mother. It was a very nice way to spend Thanksgiving. Nina's family are all very warm and welcomeing people. I had a great time. During the trip we went to Arlington National Cemetary so my son could visit the gravesite of one of his Army buddies. That was very sobering, but I think that it was worth the side trip for Matt. Nina's GPS took us through downtown DC and I was able to view some of the Brownstones that I'd heard about, but never really had an idea of what they were. So the holidays started out well for me and the fact that I was able to spend four days with my grandsons made the trip so much more enjoyable. Now, we are in the middle of the count down to Christmas, and I am very busy. Last night I enjoyed a lovely Chili dinner with my other son, Tim and his family. I had fun playing with Jack and seeing his excitement for Christmas. In the next seven days, I have five holiday parties to go to and I would like to have some time to take Jack to ride the Pink Pig, or go see Santa or something. Mostly, I just can't believe that Christmas, and thus the end of the year is here already. But I'm so glad to be spending so much time with my favorite people. Oh yeah, I don't want to forget Lizzie... She's always so photogenic. Hope you all are having a very happy holiday season.

Official Diagnosis

Got the official Type 2 diagnosis yesterday. Up until then, it was just gestational, pre-diabetes, insulin resistance. But now the diagnosis is officially Type 2. It's not like it's a big shock or anything. I've been watching this coming since I was 20. So now I have a new medication and a new diet. The medication isn't as bad as I'd been told. Only a little quesey and lightheaded. That should let up in a few weeks. Still, it stinks to have to add one more thing to my list.