Tuesday, July 21, 2009

WINTER BLUES VERSUS SUMMER JOY??

I must admit I do love winter although I definitely do not like thunderstorms. Of late I have noticed quite a number of people complaining about grey skies, windy conditions, rain etc. etc. It seems that grey skies can cause depression among certain people and I am sure this has been scientifically proven, however I never feel depressed at this time of year. I do love autumn and spring weather when the temperatures range from 20C to 25C (my perfect type of weather) but I also don't mind when the days are cold. I can rug up to keep warm but can never get cool enough during hot weather which for me is anything about 30C. My ancestors came from northern Scotland and Denmark and I often stop and wonder can our genetics actually have an effect on our preference for even the weather. I was born in Western Australia so should by age 77 be climatised but don't think that will happen at this late stage of my life. I wonder if others out there find constant blue skies and hot, hot days as depressing as others find the grey skies of winter and the rain and wind that comes with that season. An interesting thought.

DIABETES & THE PROBLEMS IT BRINGS WITH IT

I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in June of 1996....quite a surprise but didn't change my life much at the time apart from following the instructions re exercise and diet I was given. Six months later my other half was also told he had Type 2 diabetes but his was 'worse' than mine with much higher initial readings and he was immediately prescribed tablets to take and of course similar instructions to mine about diet and exercise. He is fortunate in not having arthritic problems and he can exercise quite well and still plays golf although in his 80th year now.
Unfortunately his diabetes began to get worse over time and it was decided recently that he should begin to inject insulin twice a day (before breakfast and before dinner). He had to wait about a month to see a diabetes educator to instruct him on how to inject the insulin plus other important issues. This didn't help as he was apprehensive about whether he would manage OK but eventually he had an appointment and off we went to meet Kylie who was really great and put him at his ease.
All began quite well and surprisingly he has no problem doing the actual injecting but of course now has to test his blood glucose several times a day and that is where the problem arises. He is getting some quite weird readings (some higher than expected and some much lower) at different times of the day and now we (and I say we 'cos my help and support is vital to him) have to try and determine just what he should eat and when and why does his blood glucose go up so quickly and drop so quickly at other times.
It is going to take several weeks to set a pattern for him to get in control and I know this is getting him down as I think he thought once he was on insulin most of his problems would be solved. Life, of course, is never as simple as one thinks it will be but I know we will get him there eventually and we once again will be in control. One must never let an illness take over if it is at all possible to take control of it. This is not always possible with some illneses unfortunately but I do think in this case we will get there and achieve some type of stability once again. Here's hoping so anyway as I love my 'other half' very much and hate to see him down in the dumps. He probably thinks I am being a bit 'bossy' at times but I do have to make him participate in setting himself a routine as I can't do it for him but can only watch and advise and help as much as I can. Just another little ripple in a reasonably tranquil existence.

WHAT IF? #4

I am not getting back to blogging as often as I intended but here I am again with another What If? and this is one that certainly could have made my life quite different in the long term.
I had attended a catholic school from just before the age of six until I was nearly 12 and I absolutely loved it there. I am not catholic and there were only 2 protestants in my class through the 6 years I attended Victoria Square (now Mercedes) College. I thought the nuns were wonderful teachers and lovely people as well and my one ambition was to go to the "BIG" school once I finished primary school level. I would have gone to the big school the year I was 12. I dreamed of going through to do my Leaving Certificate and perhaps even beyond that to university.
Towards the end of 1943 it was decided that all children (which included protestants of course) who attended the school would have to participate in catechism (religious instruction) classes. My mother was horrified at the thought as she definitely did not want me becoming a Roman Catholic. In her infinite wisdom she removed me from the school I loved and enrolled me at Perth College in Mount Lawley (a school run by the Church of England). It was quite a traumatic happening in my life as I did not enjoy attending the school although I did make 3 friends there with whom I enjoyed some good times during my school days. There was a shortage of teaching staff owing to WW2 and I did find that many of the teacher seemed to pay particular attention to the girls from the "better" families (those with money). My folks were comfortably off and dad was making a good living for us but I have always considered myself a quite ordinary person and hate snobbery of any kind. All this certainly changed my life as I couldn't wait to leave Perth College and made up my mind I would set out to do be an office worker and become a secretary (shorthand typist). Towards the end of my 2nd year at PC I found I would have to attend Perth College for at least another 2 years to achieve this end so pleaded with mum and dad to let me go to a commercial college. My pleading resulted in me in attending City Commercial College for a year when I was 14 where I obtained my Commercial Junior Certificate. I enjoyed it there and was actually offered a job as a junior shorthand teacher but being a rather shy person I didn't fancy having to be in charge of people possibly even older than myself. I found an excellent position in insurance and even spent 6 months working for the Commonwealth Government in Melbourne when I was 18. I have always been glad I learned shorthand and typing.
All the above sounds quite satisfactory but my big WHAT IF? is this: Had my mother not had this fear of me being converted to catholicism I would have spent all my school years at Mercedes and possibly even gone on to university. The strange thing is that through all 6 years at Mercedes my friend Shirley Ponsford (the other protestant student) and I always sat at the back of the classroom during the catechism lessons so surely if I was going to be converted it would have occurred anyway. I couldn't convince my mother of this fact and so my life was changed in quite a significant way. This may not seem a big What If? but it has always been at the back of my mind through the years and remains there still.