10/35/41

My baby is 10 years old! Saturday we celebrated Gillian’s birthday with lots of family, friends, food, and fun. The party ended with a private game of Laser Tag at Laser Quest! That has to be about the coolest place ever! She had a great time as did all of her friends. It was a lot of fun.

Yesterday I became an older ninja. My 35th birthday was shared with the Easter Bunny this year which is a brand new one for me. Palm Sunday has fallen on my birthday before but never Easter. After the sunrise service at church and the rest of the resurrectiony goodness of the morning, my birthday was spent at home with my wife and kids. I dozed in and out all day while I sat on the couch. It made for a perfect day in my very busy book. I also realized that since I was diagnosed at age 17, I can now say that I have diabetes for most of my life. I know for many of you that number was reached a long time ago but it actually was a “whoa!” moment for me.

And the last number from the title, 41. On Saturday morning I weighed in at Weight Watchers and had lost 3.8 pounds this last week bringing my total weight loss to 41 pounds. I normally post my Weight Watchers updates on Saturday mornings but for the last two weeks I have not. I actually gained 0.6 pounds each week! I notice that I go up a little and go down a lot. I guess I did not feel like writing about the gains those weeks. It was lame of me I know but in the future I will stay true to what I said at the beginning and post it all, the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Washington D.C. Trip

In two weeks my son will be spending his Spring Break on a trip to Washington DC with his 8th grade class.

He has been excited about this trip since last year when the other 8th grade class went. George is a very patriotic kid. Ever since he was chosen as a Student Ambassador in 5th grade and was able to travel to Canada with a group of other student ambassadors from Southern California, he has been really into U.S. History and being very patriotic.

So when a writing contest was announced in which the winners will be participating in the Changing of the Guard Ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, he decided to enter. “What American is to me” was the title of all the essays that would be submitted. It had to be two pages long and typed. 16 kids entered the contest and last night at the meeting they announced the winners.

“Each of the essays was read by three teachers,” one teacher explained. “The names on the essays were covered up so the teachers did not know whose essay they were reading.” This point made me happy because George is kind of a charmer especially to adults. He is funny in that he enjoys talking to adults and most remember him because of that. I am glad that was not a factor because I wanted the best essays to win, not necessarily my son. “Each teacher scored the essays, we added them up, and took the 4 highest scores. Two from the boys and two from the girls.”

The teacher read a boys name first and of course everyone applauded. I was sure another boy's name would come next but instead it was a girl’s name. Here it comes! Nope the girl sitting behind us was named. Oh man. I cannot stand this….

“And Geoooooooooorge Simmons!” The teacher looked right at him and said it like he was on a game show. I may be crazy but I am pretty sure he got the biggest applause. I later found out that this teacher was sort of messing with George about his essay saying almost daily, “Don’t ask me. I know nothing!” She waited to say his name last to mess with him one last time! It was very cute.

Anyhow, all 4 of us sort of floated home last night being proud of our little dude. Gillian told me that she almost started crying. She is a proud little sister.

Jasmine and I stayed up late talking about our kids and how blessed we are. They are both so different except that both are very much alike in that they continue to amaze us with their accomplishments. We are not the pushy parents at all but we are the encouraging type. We are both good cheerleaders. With very good reason to be.

We have quite the team.

The Mission Grade

When I got home late last night, Gillian comes running up to me with some news.

“Dad. We got our grades on Mission projects today!”

“Sweet! How did I, I mean we, I mean you. How did you do?” All this time my wife was somewhere between laughing at me and hucking a remote control at my head.

“Well, it said ‘great job!’ on the sheet and we got an A+!!! 100 points and I got some extra credit too because we took pictures of our visit to the mission!”

She was so proud and I was very proud of her. The coolest part of the whole process was the way all 4 of us pitched in to get it done. It became a fun family project and for Gillian to acknowledge that “we got an A+” was very sweet. She high-fived her brother and hugged both me and mom thanking us for our help.

“Thank you honey for letting me help. I had a blast and we kicked butt!” I said through a lump in my throat.

“That’s what the Simmons family does. We kick butt!” She said jokingly. Or half jokingly.

Oh yeah, this kid is definitely mine!

Cure Curiosity

This morning I posted on dLife about clinical trials that are beginning soon. I am sure most all of you have heard about it by now.

Of course I have thought about not having diabetes. I have prayed for a cure and dreamed of a life free of shots and finger sticks. I am sure most of us have. But for some reason the thought kind of scares me.

Remember the movie The Shawshank Redemption? Remember the scene when Brooks get out of prison and desperately wants to go back? He has been so used to living in prison that being free is now like a prison for him. He has become “institutionalized.” Functioning in prison is the norm for him and anything else is uncomfortable and disturbing.

Is that was a cure would be like? I mean, at first will we hesitate each time a box of cookies is plopped down in front of us? Would we wonder how many carbs are in that meal we were just served? Would we want to check our BG every once and while just to see if our machine is still working or just for fun?

I think I would save Master P. I would have him in a shadow box or something. That would be awesome. I could make a mobile with all the old BG machines I have too!

I know after time I would be very happy not having the big D but I honestly think I will miss it. Well not miss “it” but miss the routine.

Would we all stay in touch? That would be my biggest fear. I would hate to now keep in touch with all of you and read what you are going through. We should make a pact. If there is ever a cure for diabetes and we all do not have this stupid disease to deal with any longer, we should promise to continue posting about all the yummy goodness we are enjoying.

Now that I look at it, the only negative to being cured would be the possibility of losing touch with those friends whose friendship began because of the disease.

I promise I will continue even if it’s only You Tube Tuesdays and an occasional Ninja post.

That is of course, if a cure is found.

You Tube Tuesday #64

This has to be the laziest dog owner I have ever seen although, Jerry does not seem to mind.

Enjoy.