BRIDGET

OK...just went to sit down with Dave - who is moaning for a thermometer...b/c I guess he is sick (he has a flair for drama when he is under the weather)...anyways, I was thinking about my attempt at this blogging thing so far...and couldn't shake the guilt of not mentioning Bridget...or writing something about this amazing human being.

She gets the shaft...a lot: in the food department: "sorry Bridget...no seconds on pasta, bread, cereal, etc" (she knows it is b/c Joe cannot necessarily have seconds...and sometimes Joe will catch-on and say it is OK if she has seconds...and sometimes...I don't know if he is paying attention or not, but no response from him...so she goes without). I have worked on this aspect of our life over the past year or so...realizing this is not a healthy food relationship for Bridget, nor is it a good sibling control issue that I had inadvertently caused. It was just so dang difficult to manage a 3 year-old/4 year-old/ 5 year-old's carb intake...and then to have a sibling to eat just whatever she wanted. For the most part, Bridget handles herself with grace and rarely complains. I am however,trying to change this situation that I have created.

She is truly Joe's biggest fan...for a year or so, she would put on shows (dances and songs) to entertain Joe to keep his mind off his insulin set change. Every other day Joe has a new needle stuck into his buttocks for insulin delivery from his pump. At times he complains that it is very painful, he has screamed, he has cried. So, we ice the site prior to inserting the needle and Bridget would dance and sing...at times the songs and dances were extremely inappropriate (potty talk etc), but they got the job done. Now he and Bridget watch part of a show or play Lego Star Wars on the X-Box to keep his mind off the task at hand. She is a hero...she never misses an opportunity to help distract him. I feel I am always trying to make-up to her my inadequacies for figuring this thing out and maintaining some sort of balance within the family. Again, she is truly amazing...my heart swells with pride and my eyes overflow with tears when thinking of her.