Tidings of Joy

As I type this I am relaxing with a cup of coffee, with “Santa’s workshop” officially closed, awaiting time to open the Christmas kitchen, enjoying the last hours of peace before the holiday chaos (which I mostly enjoy) ensues. It occurred to me that in my hustle of the season and enduring a sinus infection over the last week I forgot to mention my results to my recent blood work.

If you have read much of this blog you know that my A1C was off the charts in August when I found out I’m a T2 diabetic: over 14. I’ve made some significant changes in my lifestyle to get this disease under control and was looking forward to seeing what three months of those changes would bring to my BG, triglycerides, cholesterol, and other numbers. It was odd to be looking so forward to a doctor appointment!

The reports showed that my efforts had paid off; my A1C is now 5.2, well in the normal, non-diabetic range! This doesn’t mean I’m not a diabetic anymore: I am and always will be unless a cure is found. It does mean that I’ve made substantial strides towards mater the disease rather than being a slave to it, as I like to say. My other numbers were, in my PCP’s words “excellent”, though I don’t recall what they were; I was too happy with the A1C to even listen to the other numbers.

I feel much better, too, overall. I am closer to being “me” than I have been in over a year. I am moving and doing more than I have in a long time and enjoying life and my family and friends and hobbies more than I have in ages. And I have no reason to think it will do anything but get better with time.

I am truly abundantly blessed, this year and always, really. My health is improving, I’m happier, I have my family, and I have my Savior, Jesus, whose birth we celebrate today. It is with the sincerest heart I can say that I am writing this today with tiding of joy.

Merry Christmas, my friends, and may God richly bless your holiday season.

Reflecting

I’m sitting back resting a little while today before it is time to pick my grandson up from school, just enjoying the quiet and thinking a little bit. I had my blood drawn for tests this morning, which I’ll have the results to next Monday. I’m anxious to learn what they will show from the last three months.

Since Thanksgiving I’ve been a bit (maybe even more than a bit) off my eating plan/game. I really haven’t done too badly but I have made some poor, unhealthy choices that I probably oughtn’t have. These poor choices had led me to not test as often as I should’ve the last few weeks and to a gain of a few pounds. I’m not going to beat myself up over these things though; we are in the holiday season and I do want to enjoy them to an extent, which I think I am without overindulging.

One of the reasons I can still feel positive about about the changes I’ve made, despite the backward-progress of the last few weeks is how I feel overall. Yesterday I spent several hours working on some plumbing in the bathroom that desperately needed done. Well, one item had to be done and the other two just needed done. Then today I spent a little more time finishing up the projects: we now have a new shut off valve to the toilet, new supply line, new “guts” in it, a new sink faucet, and a new shower head assembly. I did all of this by myself and was able to get it all done with little trouble (including the several trips to the hardware store for supplies as I found I needed them). Six months or so ago I’d not have done all that in a day plus a morning; I didn’t have the energy nor did I have the wits about me to get a job like this done without fouling something up. But since I’ve worked so hard at getting this diabetes under control I feel and think much better. And I thank God that I do!

I know that I have a long road ahead of me still; I’ll be working to stay ahead of this disease for the rest of my life. But once I’ve gotten my weight down to where it needs to be I’ll be battling a lot less and the road won’t be so steep. Realizing the improvement in my overall health is plenty incentive to push along steadily through the holiday season. And it will be the motivation for pulling ahead, back on solid ground, after the festivities are over and the New Year begins.

So, now I wait for next Monday to get my results and hear what the doc has to say about all of this. I’m so eager to know my “numbers” that I can already tell it’s going to be a long week – but that’s a good thing!