The first is to find humor in the situation whenever I can. It hit me, not too long into our diabetic adventure, that this is just like having a baby in the house again. We get up in the middle of the night to check on my son, and, if necessary, feed him. It is quite humorous to wake him at 2:00 am and tell him to get up and eat something. He usually smiles, gets up, eats whatever we've determined he should eat, smiles again and goes back to bed. God has blessed him with a good disposition, that's for sure.
My son is not much of an adventurous eater, so we've found a few staples that have been carrying us through the past month. These babies
have been indispensable. They are portable, have a the right amount of carbs to boost him up a bit and contain a bit of protein from the peanut butter to level him off, they are inexpensive and most importantly, he likes them. The other night while we were sitting there at 2 am and he was eating his prescribed 12 crackers, the thought popped into my head, "It's 2 am. Do you know how many peanut butter crackers your child is eating?" It cracked me up at that moment, which is a good thing, because you have to laugh whenever you can or you'll cry instead.
The second thing is that I tend to fixate on something else to take my mind off of the situation. Right now I'm fixating on my house. Cleaning and straightening have very cathartic effects. It is something I can physically do which brings peace to my mind. My kids aren't thrilled because I'm always telling them to clean up their piles of stuff, but to see a very neat house makes me feel more peaceful.
I've also been fixating on my laundry room.
Specifically, this door. The room is small and dark. We have bigger plans for it, but for now my eye is on replacing that door with one that has a window in it. The good thing about this project is that we have some Menard's rebate money and since the hospital won't accept that as payment, I have to use it for things for the house! SCORE! We went this past weekend and got the door, now we just have to put it in. I just know that the sunlight (of which I am craving, seeing as how it is FEBRUARY in the Midwest) that will stream through that window will bring me great joy.
And so we all cope with difficulties in different ways. Of course prayer has a central place in this coping, but I've also found other ways that are helpful to me and not harmful to anyone else!
How do you cope when you're in a difficult spot?
God Bless!
