You wash your hands. You reach for the kitchen towel. That is, until your younger brother walks in the room. Then you get different ideas. You sneak on tiptoe across the kitchen, cradling your dripping fingers in your wet palms. Just a few more steps... just a few more...
There! You've done it! You leave the excess water dripping from your brother's face as you make a hasty retreat back to the kitchen sink to reload. But he's closer to the bathroom than you are to the sink. He gets you back as you're turning on the water. Unfortunately for him, you have a stream of cold water right in front of you; bad timing on his part. You fill your cupped hands to the brim with water and send it sailing directly onto the front of his shirt. Then you run, even though that means he's got the sink at his disposal. Maybe if you run fast enough you'll make it to the bathroom in time--
No such luck. This water bomb (in the form of a sopping kitchen towel) hits your rear end. Not cool. You turn to retaliate with dry hands, even though you're not sure what you're going to do. Whoops. He gets you in the face with a shower from his fingers. You pick up the wet towel and follow his retreating back onto the back porch. He's already flown down the stairs onto the lawn, but you've been on a softball team. You take careful aim and hit him in the back of the head. He turns around, fire in his eyes. You turn and run, locking the door behind you, but not before you hear his shout: "This means war!"
You can't let him have the last word. You lock the front door also on your way to lock the downstairs door. He's stuck outside. You get a bucket, fill it with icy water and take it out on the back porch. He's still below you, banging on the downstairs door and not looking at you. So, you upturn the bucket on his head. He wipes dripping hair from his eyes and looks up at you. "War? Bring it on!" you shout before going inside and locking again.
Monday, June 25, 2012
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Down Days
Diabetes consists of three major stages: High, Normal, and Low. When a diabetic is "high" that means their blood sugar level is higher than normal. Symptoms of that include frequent urination, thirst, agitation, and nausea. "Normal" means their blood sugar level is just where it needs to be and they feel wonderful. A "low" blood sugar is just that: A blood sugar level lower than usual. Those symptoms include nausea, shaking, sweating, hunger, and confusion.
I would like to focus this post on the term "Low" and what it really means for a diabetic. When someone is low, the solution is to get sugar into the blood stream. The easiest way to do that is to eat. Sounds nice, doesn't it? "I don't feel good; that gives me an excuse to eat sugary foods. Yay!" ...Not so much. While sugary foods like soda, candy, and syrup sound like the best solution, they're not. Those sugars make blood sugar levels skyrocket, then drop them like a rock. The diabetic will go high, and then end up low again. Complex carbohydrates or carbs with protein work the best, such as bread or milk. Also, glucose tablets made especially for low blood sugars work well (although, often the flavors are disgusting). If you're required to eat, who wants to eat those types of foods? But, you have to.
Also, what about the diabetics who are dieting? Imagine that thought process: "Oh great, I'm low. That means I have to eat, which means I have to use some of my calorie budget for dinner or risk going over." What if you're dieting with a friend? "Dude, why are you eating? Are you going low on purpose so you can eat?" What an awful accusation! I know what a great comeback would be: "Yes, I'm making myself feel shaky and sick on purpose so I can eat more food than I'm supposed to." No!
Going low isn't fun. Most of the time it just interrupts what the person's doing (Murphy's law says that a diabetic will go low at the most inconvenient times) and makes them eat when they don't want to. Often it happens in the middle of the night, so they are required to have a 2 am snack, then stay up for 15 minutes to make sure it works. Sometimes it takes two or three snacks to get their blood sugar level rising. By that time it's nearly 3 am, and they've lost an hour of sleep.
Be patient with your diabetic friends and family. If they go low, encourage them not to put off fixing it (because sometimes they will; they won't want to stop what they're doing to take care of themselves). Offer them food if they have none, and don't get frustrated if they don't have anything on them. No one plans on going low. Don't hesitate to eat with them; make it fun for them, instead of a chore that has to happen before you can have fun again. Don't make them feel guilty for going low; it's not their fault. Sometimes overdoses on insulin or unexpected exercise happens; while those are mistakes they made, going low is punishment enough. They don't need someone else riding them on having to eat.
For the diabetics reading: Here are a list of some foods that are more enjoyable to eat when you're low, because they have the complex carbs or proteins with a yummy food. (Most of these you just have a small serving, because it's more than the usual 15 carbs.)
Chocolate Milk
Bread with Jam, Honey, or Peanut Butter
Tortilla Chips and Salsa
Yogurt
Granola Bars
Fruit
Smoothie (Add veggies for extra nutrition)
I would like to focus this post on the term "Low" and what it really means for a diabetic. When someone is low, the solution is to get sugar into the blood stream. The easiest way to do that is to eat. Sounds nice, doesn't it? "I don't feel good; that gives me an excuse to eat sugary foods. Yay!" ...Not so much. While sugary foods like soda, candy, and syrup sound like the best solution, they're not. Those sugars make blood sugar levels skyrocket, then drop them like a rock. The diabetic will go high, and then end up low again. Complex carbohydrates or carbs with protein work the best, such as bread or milk. Also, glucose tablets made especially for low blood sugars work well (although, often the flavors are disgusting). If you're required to eat, who wants to eat those types of foods? But, you have to.
Also, what about the diabetics who are dieting? Imagine that thought process: "Oh great, I'm low. That means I have to eat, which means I have to use some of my calorie budget for dinner or risk going over." What if you're dieting with a friend? "Dude, why are you eating? Are you going low on purpose so you can eat?" What an awful accusation! I know what a great comeback would be: "Yes, I'm making myself feel shaky and sick on purpose so I can eat more food than I'm supposed to." No!
Going low isn't fun. Most of the time it just interrupts what the person's doing (Murphy's law says that a diabetic will go low at the most inconvenient times) and makes them eat when they don't want to. Often it happens in the middle of the night, so they are required to have a 2 am snack, then stay up for 15 minutes to make sure it works. Sometimes it takes two or three snacks to get their blood sugar level rising. By that time it's nearly 3 am, and they've lost an hour of sleep.
Be patient with your diabetic friends and family. If they go low, encourage them not to put off fixing it (because sometimes they will; they won't want to stop what they're doing to take care of themselves). Offer them food if they have none, and don't get frustrated if they don't have anything on them. No one plans on going low. Don't hesitate to eat with them; make it fun for them, instead of a chore that has to happen before you can have fun again. Don't make them feel guilty for going low; it's not their fault. Sometimes overdoses on insulin or unexpected exercise happens; while those are mistakes they made, going low is punishment enough. They don't need someone else riding them on having to eat.
For the diabetics reading: Here are a list of some foods that are more enjoyable to eat when you're low, because they have the complex carbs or proteins with a yummy food. (Most of these you just have a small serving, because it's more than the usual 15 carbs.)
Chocolate Milk
Bread with Jam, Honey, or Peanut Butter
Tortilla Chips and Salsa
Yogurt
Granola Bars
Fruit
Smoothie (Add veggies for extra nutrition)
Thursday, June 21, 2012
The Lemonade Stand
The vision: A huge, neon sign in front of a beautifully decorated booth. A padded chair to sit in while serving hundreds of customers your ice-cold, fresh-squeezed lemonade that you store by the gallon in a refrigerator behind you. At least a hundred dollars in profit, and that's after splitting it with your co-workers.
The reality: A cardboard sign held by your three-year-old brother in front of your parents old foldable card-table. A camp chair to sit in as you wait for someone to come and buy a glass of lukewarm Crystal Light out of the single pitcher Mom loaned you. A grand total of $12.50 that you then have to split six ways.
It's a summer tradition: A lemonade stand. All the parents know it's doomed for failure, but you have to try it anyway, because the kids in the movies all make bank... Right? But, of course, never believe what you see in the movies.
Still, it's a fun way to spend a summer afternoon, especially if you get enterprising friends as business partners. The other day there was a whole gaggle of kids around a lemonade stand on a street corner in our neighborhood. I was in my car, and some children I knew flagged me down. "Koolaide for 25 cents!" I couldn't just leave them hanging, so I fished out a quarter and took the Koolaide. It was red, lukewarm, and had floating things in it. Their "stand" was a dirty old wheelbarrow that I couldn't see the inside of from my car, so I was afraid of what was in there. I kept it in my car's cupholder as I drove to the bank and home, then dumped it in the garden as I walked inside. I'd done my duty to the poor kids without endangering my personal health.
The reality: A cardboard sign held by your three-year-old brother in front of your parents old foldable card-table. A camp chair to sit in as you wait for someone to come and buy a glass of lukewarm Crystal Light out of the single pitcher Mom loaned you. A grand total of $12.50 that you then have to split six ways.
It's a summer tradition: A lemonade stand. All the parents know it's doomed for failure, but you have to try it anyway, because the kids in the movies all make bank... Right? But, of course, never believe what you see in the movies.
Still, it's a fun way to spend a summer afternoon, especially if you get enterprising friends as business partners. The other day there was a whole gaggle of kids around a lemonade stand on a street corner in our neighborhood. I was in my car, and some children I knew flagged me down. "Koolaide for 25 cents!" I couldn't just leave them hanging, so I fished out a quarter and took the Koolaide. It was red, lukewarm, and had floating things in it. Their "stand" was a dirty old wheelbarrow that I couldn't see the inside of from my car, so I was afraid of what was in there. I kept it in my car's cupholder as I drove to the bank and home, then dumped it in the garden as I walked inside. I'd done my duty to the poor kids without endangering my personal health.
Sunday, June 17, 2012
The Bedroom
My brother today decided to move into the spare bedroom. Lucas came into the living room and kept us informed on everything he decided, and then came the biggest announcement of all: "No girls allowed in my room, just cool people."
A few minutes later, he came in with Amendment #1: "No girls allowed, just boys and parents. Mom can come in, because she's a parent." When Samantha complained, he came up to her and patted her shoulder, saying, "Don't worry; I'll come out of my room a lot."
It wasn't more than ten minutes before Amendment #2 was added: "No girls allowed, just boys, parents, and Samantha."
Dad must have stepped in with an idea at this point, because soon Amendment #3 was added: "Girls can come in my room only if they bring me food."
At this point the amendments stopped, but now it became a battle between all the sisters (except Samantha) and Lucas to see who would end up going in his room. I tried first, and he said I could go in if I didn't steal his stuff. I didn't; I stole him instead, throwing him laughing over my shoulder. As I carried him out, Penny ran into his room, taunting him as she went. He immediately started squirming, so I put him down and he ran after her, yelling, "No! No, you can't go in!" Penny gave up after that, but Anna didn't. Cries of "Get out!" and "No girls allowed!" are still periodically ringing throughout the house.
Good thing he really isn't scheduled to move in for a few more weeks.
A few minutes later, he came in with Amendment #1: "No girls allowed, just boys and parents. Mom can come in, because she's a parent." When Samantha complained, he came up to her and patted her shoulder, saying, "Don't worry; I'll come out of my room a lot."
It wasn't more than ten minutes before Amendment #2 was added: "No girls allowed, just boys, parents, and Samantha."
Dad must have stepped in with an idea at this point, because soon Amendment #3 was added: "Girls can come in my room only if they bring me food."
At this point the amendments stopped, but now it became a battle between all the sisters (except Samantha) and Lucas to see who would end up going in his room. I tried first, and he said I could go in if I didn't steal his stuff. I didn't; I stole him instead, throwing him laughing over my shoulder. As I carried him out, Penny ran into his room, taunting him as she went. He immediately started squirming, so I put him down and he ran after her, yelling, "No! No, you can't go in!" Penny gave up after that, but Anna didn't. Cries of "Get out!" and "No girls allowed!" are still periodically ringing throughout the house.
Good thing he really isn't scheduled to move in for a few more weeks.
Monday, June 11, 2012
Proper Introductions
My name is Jemmie Reck. I am of a non-descript age between 16 and 24, I have type 1 diabetes and I live somewhere in the western United States. I also am blogging under a pseudonym.
I know it seems silly to blog under a fake name when I'm not a criminal or a celebrity (now you have another way to narrow down the search of my true identity), but my thinking behind it is: Why not? Why not have a place where I can write about anything without the baggage of my identity to hold me back? And so, I have begun this blog under the name Jemmie Reck
While I'll be writing about a host of different subjects, the main focus of my posts will be on people with diabetes. However, if that isn't you, please don't stop reading! This blog is for everyone. If you have a story you would like me to post, email me at jemmie.reck@gmail.com. If I like it, I'll post it! (Although I retain the right to embellish it. :D) Feel free to comment on the posts, email me with questions or comments, and share my blog with friends! It'll be hard for me to get it going on my own, so if you like it, share it!
This post isn't supposed to have any moral or meaning; it is simply to introduce myself. I hope this was a proper introduction, despite the fact that I blatantly told you I am going under a false name. Still, I hope you can look past that and into what I write. I will write again soon. Please visit my blog again; I promise you won't be disappointed!
I know it seems silly to blog under a fake name when I'm not a criminal or a celebrity (now you have another way to narrow down the search of my true identity), but my thinking behind it is: Why not? Why not have a place where I can write about anything without the baggage of my identity to hold me back? And so, I have begun this blog under the name Jemmie Reck
While I'll be writing about a host of different subjects, the main focus of my posts will be on people with diabetes. However, if that isn't you, please don't stop reading! This blog is for everyone. If you have a story you would like me to post, email me at jemmie.reck@gmail.com. If I like it, I'll post it! (Although I retain the right to embellish it. :D) Feel free to comment on the posts, email me with questions or comments, and share my blog with friends! It'll be hard for me to get it going on my own, so if you like it, share it!
This post isn't supposed to have any moral or meaning; it is simply to introduce myself. I hope this was a proper introduction, despite the fact that I blatantly told you I am going under a false name. Still, I hope you can look past that and into what I write. I will write again soon. Please visit my blog again; I promise you won't be disappointed!
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