Coffee No More

Okay so. I admit it, I am -- make that was -- addicted to coffee. I love the taste, and simply could not do without the pick-me-up of that first, second, and oh (she says lovingly), that third cup. Up until the end of June, I was consuming at least 7-8 cups a day.

Probably more.

Upon waking, the remaining half pot from what Ryan would make before leaving for work -- gone. A second, albeit smaller pot later in the morning-- gone. It got to be so bad that Joseph noticed my increased consumption, and actually seemed concerned by it.

"Mom, I think you drink too much coffee."

"But honey, I really need it to help me stay awake."

"Then why don't you just sleep some more?"

Why indeed. Up late checking blood sugars. Resettling a waking toddler. Worrying about the present. Fearing the future. "Yup," I thought, "getting more sleep would help, but it ain't gonna happen soon."

But then the fluttering started. In my chest. Like little butterflies flitting about on a lovely summer day. Only it didn't feel as charming as all that. Actually kind of creepy. Because it would go on for hours. And it occurred over a period of weeks....

So here I was, preaching to my diabetic son about how important it is to take good care of himself and stay healthy. How healthy eating AND drinking habits are a huge part of the whole picture. And this is how I modeled that for him. Hmmmm.

That was it. On July 2nd (the day after my sisters departed for Massachusetts), I stopped.

Cold turkey.

Yeah the first few days truly sucked. Massive headaches. Really, really tired.

In an attempt to lessen the blow, I took to drinking one cup of lightly-brewed tea in the morning, and on some days (surprisingly fewer now), a cup in the afternoon.

How civilized.

In the past 21 days Joseph has kept track, telling me each morning (in a very proud voice, I might add) "Day 8, mom. Day 8 without coffee." And so on...

An unanticipated side effect of this coffee stoppage has occurred. Folks, I have energy. For my birthday, Ryan sent me off on a bike ride by myself. In all the time we've lived in Wisconsin, I don't think I've ever gone on a ride completely alone. I rode about 20 miles.
It was grand.

So grand that, over the last three weeks, Joseph and I have taken to going on bike rides together. Lots of them. At first he complained about the hills, but then his legs grew stronger. Yesterday we went almost 15 miles miles-- hills and all. He was absolutely thrilled. And since I went nearly 15 miles while hauling a Burley full of a toddler, among other things, I was pretty pleased myself.

Joseph and I have also spent a lot of time playing catch (I have my own well-worn mitt, thank you very much). This is something we haven't done since late spring-- again, because I just didn't have the energy. I had almost forgotten how much fun tossing a baseball and snagging a seemingly uncatchable wild pitch could be.

And hey, although I'm still getting up in the night to check blood sugars, and comfort my little girl, I am sleeping better. Feeling a bit calmer about things.

Oh, and those butterfies flitting about inside my chest-- gone.

But the most awesome (and unexpected) thing about this whole experiment has to be the effects on Joseph's sugars. With the increased exercise (over and above the usual skateboarding/scootering, and just general running around with his buddies), his blood sugars AND his insulin intake have consistently gone down.

And THAT is a beautiful thing.