It's all about the little things

There are many lessons we learn in this life. Don't swim right after eating. Don't talk to strangers. Look both ways before crossing the street. Don't eat an orange right after brushing your teeth. Don't wear socks and sandals because no matter what you think at the time...it doesn't look good. Don't watch a scary movie late at night when you are home alone.
All very important life lessons...some were taught to us by our parents, some we learned through our own experiences. After a day like the one we had yesterday...I would have to say that hands down the #1 award winning life lesson is most definitely...The little things in life matter the most.
Emma and I went to the park with a friend of hers from school and her Mom. Her Mom and I are actually good friends as well...so it was a really nice afternoon for everyone. The Moms got to chat while watching the girls run around and play. They ran from the slides to the swings to the monkey bars...and even over to the splash pad area to cool off from the hot sun.
I have been struggling for the past few days with trying to get a hold of these unexplainable high BG's Emma has been having, so I wasn't overly worried about her going low from all of the activity...which was also kind of a nice sigh of relief for me.
At the end of this school year, Emma mentioned to me how upset she was at the fact that it was only her and one other kid in her class who weren't able to make it all the way across the monkey bars on their own. It upset her to the point of tears actually. For those of you who don't know my kid personally...this is a major thing. She doesn't cry easily...she doesn't shed a tear when she falls while playing outside...she doesn't get upset like that hardly at all. So, I knew that if this was causing the tears to flow...it was probably something that was eating away at her. Well, there I sat...talking with my friend and keeping one eye on Emma. I saw her reach up, stretching her arm out as far as she could reach...willing her fingers to touch that first monkey bar..standing on the very edge of the platform on her tip toes. She had such a look of fear and determination in her eyes. I waited...holding my breath...cheering her on silently in my head, "Please let her reach it! Please let her reach it!" I saw her finally grasp the bar and take that leap of faith. She swung her little arm out just like her absolute favorite animal (the monkey). I was now silently cheering "Grab the next bar! Grab it! You can do it! Please help her grab it!"....I sat there watching and hoping that she would finally be able to accomplish this goal...finally do it and prove to herself that she COULD do it. I watched her and she grabbed the next bar...and the next...and the next...she DID it...she made it all the way to the end..all on her own! She jumped down and came racing towards me with the biggest grin on her face...her cheeks bright red...and shouting to me that she DID IT!
I know there are some people out there who might be reading this and thinking, "Why in the world is she making such a big deal about monkey bars?"...well, I don't know any other way to explain it than that it is a big deal to Emma. This is something that was bothering her for so long...and she finally did it. It made me realize that through all of my anger, frustration, and sadness about her crazy high blood sugar numbers lately....life should really be about the little things. Seeing her smile and seeing how proud she was of herself...that is what matters...that is what's important. There are so many bad things going on in this world...so many wrong doings and so many disappointments...I need to remember to hang on to those little things. I need to remember to relish in that moment and soak it up. I need to let my mind take a polaroid picture of times like those too. I can't dwell on those stressful angry feelings towards diabetes...I can't try to cram more awful pictures into the photo album in my brain...I need to throw some of those out to make room for the good moments...the truly happy ones...the moments that force me to remember that the little things in life are really all that matters.