“Hard work works harder than luck!” ― Germany Kent, Author

I didn't have a pocket mirror to breathe on this morning to see if I am still kicking, but, I suppose since I am here clicking and clacking on my little-outdated laptop keyboard, I can be identified as present but unaccounted for. Or something to that extent. It is Thursday, June 8, 2017, and while the three cups of Community have been enjoyable, they don't seem to have done much for my alertness. I hear the word 'slog' more in today's world than I did earlier. (It appears to have been around with some usage as far back as the early 1800's. Who knew?) It has something to do with keeping at it in doing something even though it may be difficult or boring. I suppose at times I might describe myself as a slogger. I might say that I am slogging my way forward. It could even end up with that famous challenge, to slog or not to slog, that may not be a good question, but it seemingly has some application. You do know I am joking about all of this. Let me be clear. I am very thankful any day that I am able to wake up, get up, and get going. Sure. There are days when things make that more challenging, but, like the Rusty Goodman song put it, "I wouldn't take nothing for my journey." Believe me, I could make a list in a heartbeat of things that I wished were better on any given day. Like my blood sugar number. Like not having to dodge so many varmints on my way in each day. Like not having a lady tell me to tone down my Santa image. See what I mean? Those don't add up to much at all. They really don't. I feel better now. Thanks for your help, but, please don't send me a bill. I get plenty of those already.

One evening this week I came home and the wife announced she had thrown together one of her mom's suppers. My mother-in-law was a very talented lady. She was simple, but, there wasn't much she couldn't figure out how to do, especially if it involved making things with her hands. When she put a meal on the table, I would describe it with one word, variety. She believed in having all kinds of different things to choose from on her table. Nothing fancy, but I learned to greatly enjoy my times at her table. The wife served up some fried okra, a combination of butter beans and peas, some red beans, fresh sliced tomatoes, a small pone of cornbread, and a glass of iced tea. Talk about good! What about dessert? She had made a banana pudding but after taking in seconds, I actually exercised a little discipline and traded the pudding for a small glass of milk with warm cornbread crumbled up in it. It was a good reminder of a Godly woman and her life. We have been so blessed with so many wonderful folks in our family and that, my friend, is something to thank God for. Amen.

What about my blood sugar number the next morning? It was 119, which is, now that I am 70 plus, very much within the guideline given to me by my doctor. (Don't get me started on that again.) Sometimes when I go completely off the reservation in my eating, I end up with a fasted blood sugar that's actually pretty good. Sometimes when I take in an almost textbook diabetic meal, the next morning it is much higher than what I typically have. Go figure. Why do I persist in making my fingers a pin cushion each day? Here's the way I see it. I think to go through the process of checking it and recording the information each day has some effect on me. Hopefully, a positive impact. It is a reminder that I have diabetes. It implies that I have to do things that help my condition. Yes. Probably more mental than anything else, but, we all have to figure out what works for us individually. And, when we finish that, we can then spend way too much time talking about the doctor's response to when you pass that 70 threshold. I'll not get into all of that. Again. But, that doesn't mean that I have forgotten. Don't forget that. Enjoy the rest of your day and may God bless each one. Amen. .....More later.