Not Again...Phew! That Was Close!

A word to the wise:  shiny plates don't belong in the microwave!

Who knew?  Those shiny disposable plates are metallic.  You know, METALlic!  It never occurred to me.

I had popped it in the microwave with some yummy-VERY yummy- coffee cake on it...at school.

(Uh, oh.  Bring back any memories?  Like, when I set off the fire alarm at school?)

Again, I had popped it in the microwave and walked out to do something while my coffee cake was warming.  When I returned, my boss and the 5th/6th grade teacher were standing around the fire alarm, looking at it with concern.

I asked, "What's that smell?"

"We're trying to figure that out," they said.

I opened the microwave and POOF!  Out came a puff of smoke.  (Deja vu moment.)

If you remember, I work at a school and there are smoke detectors everywhere.  Having learned my lesson, I slammed the microwave shut and the three of us went into action opening windows.

"Are we due for a fire alarm?"  I asked.  "Well, at least it's not nap time like last time," my boss said.  (I cringed as I thought about that again.)

"So, when should we open the microwave?"  I asked.

The highly intelligent 5th/6th grade teacher said, "Here, take it outside."  (Wow!  Great idea!)

She carried it out and opened it.  We were all wondering what in the world made the microwave smoke. I opened it up and pulled out my plate.  It was totally deformed and had cracks all over it.  Ironically, it was the shape of an egg.  (That makes me giggle!)

The 5th/6th grade teacher says, "Ah!  It's a metallic plate!"

I am happy...oh so happy!... to report that the fire alarm did not go off.  Phew!  That was close!

Why You Should Not Go to the Bathroom at a Roller Rink

I nearly had one of THE most embarrassing moments of my life.  As if the rest of these stories aren't embarrassing enough, but this one could have been completely disastrous!

Have you ever gone roller skating as an adult?  Talk about awkward!  Here are all these 5 year olds flying by you, going backwards, doing flips and landing perfect pirouettes.  It's quite humiliating, actually.  You simply have to resign yourself to skating against the wall avoiding 2 year olds.

You get used to it, of course, and soon you are playing tag and violating other posted rules. (Hey, those aren't for adults anyway, right?) But that first moment you stand up in those roller skates completely rocks your world, as it did mine.  So, before venturing out to the floor, I wisely decided that I better use the restroom.

So, imagine the scene.  I'm on skates, thinking about actually letting the skates roll, but instead choosing to walk in them.  I hit the bathroom floor and WHOOSH!  Better hold on to the wall!  (Ick!) I make it to the stall and shut the door.

Uhhh, shut the door.

No, SHUT THE DOOR!

UGH!  The door won't close!!!  How am I going to navigate this on roller skates?

Well, ever quick on my feet-err, wheels-and having born three children, thus having to use a public restroom while holding an infant several times, I used my left hand to hold the top of the door.  My nimble fingers take care of the button and...well, I don't think I need to give too many details.

Ok, so now I'm ready to "assume the position".  I bend my knees and...

Uh, oh.  My arm isn't long enough to reach the top of the door from the sitting position and the door is so tall that I can't do the filthy-gas-station-restroom position.  (Ladies, you know what I'm talking about!)

Again, quick on my wheels and fast as lightning I grabbed the bottom of the door and sat down.

I finished, even managing to grab some toilet paper one-handed, and began to stand up and...boy, how do I put this politely?  Do what guys don't have to do when they go #1.  Of course, I'm struggling to do this with my hand holding the bottom of the door, so I do what is necessary and reach for the top.

And here's where I thought I would die of embarrassment.  I'm leaning slightly forward, the floor is slanted slightly downward and as I grab the top of the door, my wheels begin to move forward.

I'm standing there, pants down, toilet paper in one hand, top of the door in the other, and I'm rolling forward, heading out of the stall where I can hear some 12-year-olds talking and fixing their silly bandz.

My heart is pounding a million miles an hour.  This CANNOT be happening!!!  These 12-year-old girls are about to be surprised by an "old" lady in roller skates rolling out of a bathroom stall, pants down, holding a wad of used toilet paper.

Hallelujah, I regained control of my feet and I left the door to its closed-but-not-latched self as I hurriedly pulled my pants up and regained my composure.  Like I said, this could have been one of THE most embarrassing moments of my life and I am SO thankful it wasn't!!!

Heros, Courage, The Wisdom of a Child, and other cliche titles that in no way convey my feelings.

There are people in this world that make you stop in your tracks, evaluate, educate yourself.

There are people in this world who possess something you don't have and you stand back and wonder if you could ever have it.  An inner courage.  A deeper level of wisdom.  Something you admire because you're not sure you could attain to that.

For me, that person is a 9 year old boy named Brady.

Brady has Juvenile (Type I) Diabetes.  To steal the words of his parents, Brady has to do things that no child should.  10-12 needle pricks a day, a painful infusion site that attaches him to his insulin pump every 3 days, and when his insulin pump isn't working, shots of insulin.  He must always be aware of carbs, his activity level, his body.  He has to deal with frightening lows and life-threatening highs.  He has to live with the knowledge that this disease can rob one of fingers, toes, eyesight, or cause kidney failure, to name just a few harsh realities.

And yet, Brady possesses something that makes me stand back and wonder.  He has an inner courage, a deeper level of wisdom.  Something I admire because I'm not sure that I could ever attain to that.

Though Type I diabetes is not caused by eating too many sweets and is completely unpreventable, Brady understands what Type II is and knows that it IS preventable.  I love sweets.  I have a horrible sweet tooth.  I know I shouldn't eat so many of them, but it was Brady that made me stop and think one day.

I had my near-daily cup of hot chocolate sitting on my desk, chocolate candy, and I think I was talking about ice cream or some other yummy pile of sugar.  Brady said to me, "You shouldn't eat too much sweets.  You can get diabetes."

I don't know if the power of that statement comes through in black and white, but it stunned me for a moment.  Here is a kid who did nothing to cause his own diabetes (which is entirely more complicated than Type II) watching an adult eat her way into Type II Diabetes, completely by her own choice.  Here's a kid who has to count every carb and get insulin for every gram, watching an adult...me... eat junk food with no care in the world.  No testing, no counting, no insulin.

And here I tell him to be responsible and stop what he's doing, even if it is recess, and test.  He knows that if his numbers are too low he'll miss recess completely (like today).  I tell him to think about his future while he does what no child should ever have to do-grow up fast.  I give him lectures, reinforcing the standards that no other child in the entire school has to follow.  I stress the importance of taking care of his body and keeping himself healthy. What a hypocrite I am, sitting there with my hot chocolate, candy, and dreams of ice cream.

Brady, where do you find your courage?  How is it you possess the strength to keep poking and testing while you would rather be out having fun?  I stand back and wonder if I could ever have that.  But should I ever need it, I will think of you and be inspired.  Your strength will increase mine.  And I will stop eating too many sweets.  :)

Below is a video about Brady and Juvenile (Type I) Diabetes.  Please watch it and then click the link below if you are able to donate anything...even $1...to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) for Brady's team, "Brady's Bunch."  Pray for a cure.



Click here to donate.  Thank you!