Life...Health...Happiness...Holdiays

Life has a funny way of interrupting your plans...

My husband was admitted to the hospital with blood sugar levels at the stroke, coma, death range - well over 1000.  He was truly covered by angels and in-tuned to his body enough to call his doctor that he felt funny.  We are blessed to have insurance where he could rush right to the ER.  Life can interrupt even the holiday season.

I sat in the waiting room and thought a lot about the things that we truly need to sustain life...and how blessed we are to not live in food deserts (like some of the nation's urban areas and like many, many, many of our third world nations) and have free access to clean, and clear water (even without the bottles or the filters).  We can be sheltered (even those homeless can still get a meal and a cot if they were at a shelter, many, many, many nations do not have that).  It all made me think more.

I was cruising Huffington Post in the last few days and came across everything from articles on the nation's food deserts to the celebrities who lost weight this year (Jennifer Hudson walking away as the darling of Weight Watchers and self-discipline) to recipes for holiday desserts to the First Lady's push for childhood healthy food and crusade against childhood obesity.

Food seems to dominate a lot of our lives in this country and not always good.

In my family, food can sometimes be too much to think about.

I manage my daughter's illnesses with food (and without others) and after six years of battling her rare illness, finally have her to a place that means she can sleep without waking up to throw up or spend days in the hospital fighting against her own body.  I've taught my children that food is only to keep us alive, not to dominate and control our lives.  I've taught them about portion control and healthy choices and try hard to not make food be a substitute for boredom.

The holidays bring us together around the table with some once-a-year treats like pound cake and peach cobbler.  It is also brings people who we may only see once-a-year from near and far.

And this year it will bring a diabetic to my home.  A vegetarian.  A food allergic child.  And reminders that the reason for the season is not the spread before us but the joy around us.

This time of year brings many joyous occasions.  In our family, those included my daughter's birthday (the 1st), my son's opening night of his first community theatre performance (the 2nd), my daughter's first ever hotel suite all girlie, all pink party (the 10th), my first daughter's first ever concert choir performance (the 12th), my husband's symphony performance - missed because of his hospitalization and we went in his honor (the 16th) and my son's dance with his first ever really serious long term relationship and recent six month celebration (today).  Whew, all of this and Christmas isn't even here yet!

May the new year bring health, joy, wonder, adventure...and life...even with the interruptions...it is still life!