Procrastination with a Purpose

I canNOT believe it has been quite this long since I posted. Then again, perhaps I can. It's been a busy, busy few months. That's not my topic, however. Moving on.

For about a month, my Dexcom charger has been acting...quirky. It would have to be situated just right in order to charge my receiver. Then, it wouldn't show that it was charging, but it would leave me with a full battery. What gives, right? 

Well, one day I noticed that the thick part of the cord near the USB-thingy was coming down, so I pushed it back up. Charger worked perfectly fine that night. Two days later, it no longer worked again. 

The battery on my receiver went kaput on November 7th. On the 8th, my sensor accidentally got ripped out. I had meant to call on the 8th, but due to a crazy work day, helping set up for the Veteran's Day program the next week, and distributing fundraiser cookie dough that evening, I wasn't able to do so. 

Not having a sensor on was...weird. But, at the same time, freeing. I didn't have to worry about pulling it out while dressing, or catching it on door frames (I wear them on my arms). Not being tied to the receiver made me feel footloose and fancy-free. So, I didn't call.

And I didn't call the next day.

Or the next.

Or the next.

I just kept putting it off, something that caused my mother no end of frustration, because she missed being able to ask me what my sugar was whenever she wanted and knowing right then. I missed the data, missed knowing I was okay after a low. But I relished the freedom.

Finally, I realized that Thanksgiving was coming, and I didn't want to do it without Dex. Also, I've been having some nighttime and wake-up lows that I really need to figure out. Oh, and an endo appointment in a few weeks. I'd enjoyed my freedom, but it was time to go back.

So, I called.

And as of a few hours ago, I am Dexing again. And it feels good. Just right.

Impact in the Cafeteria

(Before I begin, for those of you that don't know, I was able to transfer over to my "home" school for the new school year, and I'm very excited about it!)

One of the things our new principal stressed in the meetings today was the impact that a teacher's, or anyone's in the school, actions and words can impact a student forever. She stated that people won't always remember exactly what you said, or did, but they will remember how you made them feel.

This is something that I've been thinking about a lot recently. Really, since I took my first class with Ms. L at Lee, and especially after the second one I took from her.

A few days after I got on The List, I was called to go to one of the elementary schools that I attended, that I hadn't been to since I attended it. I went back to the room I was going to be in, then went back up front to get my attendance sheet, and saw...her. She was one of the aides when I was there, and had lunch duty while I was in the cafeteria. I hated lunchtime when I was there. She was always in there, and constantly yelling, threatening silent lunch, or a bad report to the teacher. For someone who was never in trouble, that was extremely frightening. Whenever I think back about my time at that school, one of the first things I always remember is her. Her impact on me has always darkly colored my opinion of that school, even though I had wonderful teachers and some great experiences there. Anyway, I asked the AP who had the attendance sheets...and she pointed to her. I have to be honest, I was 19 years old at the time, and absolutely terrified of asking her for the sheet. All of those old, insecure, fears of and 8-9 year old came bubbling to the surface. I went and asked her for the sheet, and she smiled and handed it to me, welcomed me to the school, and said she hoped I had a great day. I almost couldn't speak, I was so dumbfounded. So, I said "Thanks," and shot back to my room.

That night, I was on Facebook chat with an old friend of mine, who went to school with me there. I mentioned that I had been there that day, and the first thing she said was, "Do your remember [her] from lunch?" (She did correctly remember her name.)

At that moment, it hit me, just how much of an impact one lunchroom aide can make on a child. My friend and I both associate that school with negativity, because of how that aide made us feel. It doesn't matter how terrific our teachers were, or how the rest of the time went, that 30 minute span every day in the cafeteria is the first thing that we remember when someone mentions the name of that campus.

"Just an aide" can make a difference for the better or worse.

This is the first part of an exploratory series that I am planning.

He's my Friend

We learned a new chorus during choir practice last night that the praise singers sang during church (and I got to praise sing for the first time!!).

Anyway, it was a beautiful song, and one I'd like to share with y'all:

He's my Friend
He's the strength of my life,

He's the song in the middle of the night!

He's the joy down in my soul,

He's the One that makes me whole!

He's the peace in my storm,

He's the refuge from all harm!

Talkin' 'bout Jesus! Jesus!

He's my Friend.

The most awesome thing about it, was that the evangelist preached on getting a revelation of Who Jesus really is. He found what God was in every book of the Bible: He's the comforter, Redeemer, everything, Alpha, Omega... This song fit so perfectly, and it always amazes me, no matter how many times it happens, how God arranges things to fall perfectly into place like they did last night. 

Free, Indeed.

"He that the Son hath set free, he is free, indeed! No more chains of slavery! Truth has triumphed, with liberty. He that the Son hath set free, he is free, indeed." 

I've had that song stuck in my head for over a week now. It's based off of John 8:36. God gave me a true blessing last Sunday night; I followed a commandment, and He followed His promise.

About 2 1/2 years ago, a girl whom I considered as one of my best friends and a confidante, stopped speaking to me. It also happened to be the night that my brother and now sister-in-law announced their engagement. I had known that this girl had had a crush on my brother when they were younger, but she was dating someone else, and had been for almost 2 years, so I assumed she was over it. Well, apparently not. 

She began totally ignoring me, and did whatever she could to avoid me, for example: when the usher would pass out hymnals, instead of handing them to me to pass the rest of the way down the pew, she would drop them on the pew in front of us. Looking back, it seems so small, but it was a bunch of little things like that that kept adding up. She was giving my mother the same treatment, and so my mother asked what was wrong. She never could give a straight answer, and then kept on ignoring us, and began running us down to others (Thank the Lord for all of those that stuck by us during that time).

I went through a lot during that Spring, medically, and emotionally. I ended up having a breakdown; I wouldn't eat, couldn't sleep, and just cried for 3 days. A lot of it stemmed from this girl's behavior. I didn't know what I had done to cause it, and I felt like I was on my way to hell, because I felt that if I was doing right, this wouldn't be happening. My mom took me to our assistant pastor and his wife, and they helped me realize that I couldn't control other people's feelings, and just because they felt animosity toward me, didn't mean that something was wrong with me, but possibly with that other person. As long as I prayed about it, and acted like a Christian toward her, I was fine. That wonderful lady gave me a book, and I learned a lot about peace during the next few weeks, and actually that trial inspired me to look for peace always, and to help others find peace. That's when I discovered John 14: 27.

She got engaged to the guy she was dating on the same day as my brother's wedding. She married him a year and a half ago, and moved to a different state, which was a big relief for me. When she would come to visit, however, I felt like I couldn't even go on the same side of the church as her, and if she was at a church function, she would go out of her way to be chilly and cold. I would always ask how she was, and usually was ignored or given a terse "Fine." 

Last Sunday night was a turning point. She was in town, and we were having some awesome church. I went up to the front, behind where she was praying with several of our mutual friends. I felt like I couldn't join them. I remembered God's Words about praying for them that despitefully use you, and persecute you (Matthew 5:44), and so I started doing just that. Not long after I began praying for her, the girl came up and grabbed me, and hugged me. We both cried, and I felt a huge, heavy burden, that I had been carrying for so long that I hadn't realized it was that enormous, lift from my shoulders.

I was free. Free, indeed.

Graduation.

On May 12, 2012, I "officially" graduated with my Associate of Arts in Teaching degree. I had finally accomplished something. Something to celebrate. I was "Emily [insert middle, last names], Magna Cum Laude."

 And it felt good. Really good.

Pinnacle.

Today, I was the proud recipient of the Excellence in Teacher Education award. I was really honored that I was the one chosen; the news truly surprised me. There are a lot of wonderful ladies in the education program that would have been deserving of this award, but somehow, I was chosen.

 My instructor, Ms. L, told me one day after class. I was honestly a quite a bit stunned. I never expected to receive this award. I got the award for Excellence in Speech last year, and that shocked me down to my socks as well. 

This was even bigger, though, because it was in my field of study. Ms. L also told me that my name came up several times in their discussion. I was floored. When stuff like this happens, I have a hard time talking. Believe it or not, when it comes to vocalizing my emotions...I really have a hard time doing it! (Ironic, seeing as I have an award for Speech under my belt). I do not, however, have a difficult time writing about them. All I could say was, "Wow, oh my word." She asked me about myself for a bio that they read onstage, and I couldn't even think of anything to tell her for that. I'm so grateful to her, and my other education instructor, Mrs. A, for thinking of me.

I can't help but think about how blessed I am. God has been so good to me; He is always amazing me.

Dexcom "Etch-a-Sketch"

I've seen a lot of talk on Twitter lately about the Etch-a-Sketch nature of different Dexcom Continuous Glucose Monitor graphs. Kim and Kerri have both blogged about it. This week, I've seen two pretty clear pictures.
I've seen:
a mountain range:

and, a W:

This week, I've also had my first 3 hour flatline (mostly), which occurred in the middle of the night. That was pretty cool. It was almost six hours long, and I should have taken a picture of it, but I didn't. Alas.

Have a great rest of the weekend!