Learning to Read (and other Childhood Endeavors)....

Do you remember learning to read? Do you remember it being difficult, challenging, confusing? It seems to me, that at age 28, I have forgotten the intricasies involved in learning to read. I mean, it makes sense that it would be hard. First you have to learn all of these letters. Then you have to learn that each letter actually represents a sound. And not only does each letter represent a sound, some letters sound the same, and some really don't have a definitive sound at all. AAACCCKKKK! Then you add into all of it the complexity of a word. A word is made up of all these sounds which are represented by letters but the word, in and of itself, represents something entirely different. Mind boggling! (Hats off to all teachers who teach our children how to read, I don't know how you do it!)

Anyhow, my six year old is in kidnergarten and learning how to read. He struggles with it. We work on it EVERY DAY. We work on sounds and sight words and "sounding it out" and it is REALLY STINKING HARD. And you know what? I don't remember it ever being this hard. Is it because I have just forgotten how hard it is? Or was it just easier for me than it is for my son? I don't know the answer to that question! But I am living (re-living and living for the first time) the difficulties of learning to read, all over again!


My daughter spent a long time in the heights of her bunk bed for slamming the door today. She is so full of unleashed energy at times, I wonder where she gets it from? She certainly is unbridled in her excitement and passions!

I have a kidney infection. It seems as though whenever I am sick, the only things I can stomach to eat are sweet sweet carbs delicious simple white carbs. Today I ate 3 cookies and an ice cream bar. My blood sugars have been very reactive. I woke up this morning at like 274. I felt TERRIBLE. I knew at this time that the terrible pain in my back was more than likely a bit more than a muscle pull.

Does anyone else freak out if anything is going on with their kidney? I have anaphylactic allergic reactions to -iprol medications, so I know that once I start spilling protein, I won't have that medication option. That scares me. It also scares me because I know I have extensive scarring on my right kidney and ureter from when my appendix burst. Kidney pain is rather scary to me.

The doctor today at urgent care sat down with me and went over my lab results. My protein and creatinine levels are right on, right in target range, not too high and not too low, right in the middle. That lended me some relief, but I am still worried about my kidney. My previous problems with my kidney I had so much pain and never had infection, and I wonder if I somehow have developed a ureter stricture because of the scarring on my ureter. I guess I have a lot on my mind.....

I "remember" the implications of complications at times like these. Times when I'm not well enough to do the things I want to do. Times when I can't look inside and verify on my own that everything is a-ok. I guess it is times like these where I really need to put my trust in God, because at this point, there isnt too much I can do about it!