Life ¤ Love ¤ Laughter ¤ Linds

I don't think I have discoursed much using this platform in regards to my health.  When I was 6 or 7 years old, (I honestly don't remember how long ago it was!)  I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.  It is a disease that has gotten the best of me at times and there are times when I have willfully pretended that it has not affected me at all.   (Ahem... I'm looking at those teenage years - I survived by the grace of God!) In the last 30ish years, myths and management around the disease have changed. There are a few *things* that drive me (and any other number of individuals with Type 1) crazy!  Most of them are actually recapped really well in this post on Everyday Health >  9 Things People With Type 1 Diabetes Wish You Knew There are a lot of factors involved in management and we've come a long way since the 80s, baby.  Banting & Best are two names that will forever hold a place of gratitude in my heart... and despite my frequent compl...

First, and ever so important, this is a judgement free zone.   Seriously.   No judgement.   If you can’t be kind in your thoughts and words, skip to another post.     If you have a hard time looking at someone’s lifestyle and not comparing it to all they *should* be doing, then you might get a little worked up over this one.   If you can’t look past that, I don’t suggest you proceed. If you do proceed and find yourself wanting to dish out non-helpful and self-important opinions, I definitely suggest you keep them to yourself.   Sorry… not sorry. Food and nutrition are always touchy issues, but I’m not looking for a debate on how our family eats. I will (unashamedly) admit that there are days I absolutely crave McDonalds, but when I hit the drive thru, there are actually only a few menu items I enjoy.   Fries are a given once in a while (is it the sodium?) and I can go days with that hankering gnawing at me subconsciously – but in general, I t...

Do you ever stop to actually think about the things that feed your soul?  These are the things or moments that make you stop, pause, and breathe.  They will most likely be as unique as you are, though I'm sure many of us have many of the same items on our lists - the random minutiae that bring you a moment of peace, a spot of joy, or a bit of encouragement or life to your day. I'm also sure that you'll never be able to list all the things that refresh you as many little moments pass us by and we don't even realise that we've been uplifted for the moment. These are some of the little things that are like a breath of fresh air in an otherwise busy life - for me! (Listed in no particular order.) a butterfly on a wildflower escaping in a book a great cup of tea a cool iced latte doggy dreams (our beast howls so forlornly as he chases rabbits - it's adorable) laughter around the dinner table a {gentle} hike through the woods sitting quietly beside a bod...

We went camping at one of our local provincial parks this summer.  It was just a Friday night - Sunday afternoon deal, but my crossover was loaded to the max and the poor beast had just enough room to lie down and switch directions.   Our trip, like usual, was an interesting mix of chaos and comedy, frustration and fun, and well, rain. It never takes too, too long to set up camp.  J has his own little pop-up that he likes to use and takes charge of.  Kaleb bemoaned the camping experience and decided putting an air mattress in the back of the Journey was the way to go.  Kevin & I set up the screened in dining tent, Kevin & J. tackled the main tent and all the air mattresses while K. watched the beast and helped me putter around camp.  There was a campfire ban so no s'mores or grilled weiners for us.  It was so hot the weekend we chose to go and our tent was stifling, so *someone* kept all the windows open to air it out on Saturday.  ...

Kevin had a birthday a few weeks ago and I like to mock how he has aged.  It's all very tongue in cheek because I, myself, have another birthday approaching and am discovering bones that never used to creak, waking up with aches that are new, and of course the occasional grey hair has sprouted (only in my eyebrows, thank-you-very-much.) In a culture surrounded by looks and accomplishments and the next trendy diet, aging can be a drag (and I mean that literally.  Walking through Wonderland is not pursued with the same speed or enthusiasm it was 20 years ago. I drag... my feet, my arms, the dislike of crowded spaces.)  When we're younger we think, "by the time I'm 30, I'll have done this..." or, "oh man, 45 is so old..." and even, "I'm going to have a BA in English, taken some marketing courses, own a book/coffee shop, toured Europe, a vacation home on a lake; I'll be tall, svelte, athletically inclined, play the piano like a virtuoso, b...

Kevin's watching a documentary on Netflix and I sat beside him, laundry actually folded, with every intention of making a dent in my current read .  Instead, I'm gorging on Jelly Bellys (bellies?) trying to get my blood sugar up.  (I just started an OmniPod pump and it's only as smart as it's programming, and we're still trying to perfect that process...)  Blood sugar levels aside, Jelly Bellys are meant to be savoured one at a time, not lobbed by the handful down the gullet.  I mean you have 20 random flavours to pull out of a tiny 100g bag.  35 beans to take your chances on with every bean in a serving.  But I made the mistake of inhaling about 15 in one mouthful, because when your blood sugar drops you may resemble a rabid ravenous wolf.  Self-control tends to go out the window when your body is trying to shut down brain function in order to keep the heart pumping - some kind of self-preservation thing, I'm sure... and Jelly Bellys were close to han...

Last year, I was a first-time VBS director at our church.  I've volunteered at VBS before;  I've been an attendee at VBS before; but I'd never been the one in charge.  It was beautiful, frightening, touching, exciting, wonderful, and overwhelming.   There's nothing like having a child who is not your own, nor obligated, to throw their sweaty little arms around you in appreciation with a toothless grin and say thank you then tell you all the favourite things they did during the week. Anytime we were reminded of the ways God works through the ordinary, learning to see Him in the special and in the every day, we were reminded to say "Wow, God!" This year, I'm a second-time VBS director.  While no less overwhelming, some of the panic is missing this year (but that could just be denial that we are only 7 weeks away...)  However much I am looking forward to VBS (honestly, it's the highlight of my summer) amidst the chaos of the rest of my life (see previ...