[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]This past week I had taken my brother and my father to San Francisco for a couple of days to visit with my aunts. I say my aunts because I consider my aunt Elaine’s partner, Rhoberta of approximately 40 years, as family. I had some of the best times visiting with them. One of which was seeing something that immediately brought me back to my childhood.
Tucked neatly on top of a book case was a piece of artwork that was made by my grandmother. It was a needlework picture of several birds. No species in particular. Just a group of birds. I remembered this was in my grandparents house and my five year-old self commented that the birds represented our entire family. My grandparents, aunt, uncle, cousins, brothers and my parents. I could not take my eyes from it. It is amazing how something so trivial to some could be so mind blowing to another. My aunts were very taken by my reaction.
Unfortunately, due to my revelry I neglected to check my blood sugar before going to bed and took my regular dose of insulin without having a snack. That night my blood sugar dropped in the middle of the night. Luckily, I had some money and knew there were vending machines down the hall, or so I thought.
I quickly got dressed and went down the hall to find a blank wall where the vending and ice machine should be. I remember seeing a sign near the elevators pointing out where the vending machines were and made my way down the hall. The sign at the elevator read that vending machines were on odd numbered floors. I was on the 22nd floor. OK, time to take the elevator to the next floor up where I found both of them turned off with a big OUT OF ORDER sign on both. “What fresh hell is this?” is what went through my mind at 3am trying to get my blood sugar up. The universe was not finished with me. I went to the floor below mine. Luckily both machines were noisily humming away. I had these dollar coins from the change machine at work. If you put in a twenty, ten, five or one you get a shiny dollar coin in change. I like putting a twenty in the machine. It sounds like I’ve won the jackpot in Vegas, but again, I digress. The vending machine spit out every dollar coin I dropped in the slot. To the lobby I go.
I realized as I stepped on the cold marble floor of the lobby that I was bare footed. I know, I know as a diabetic this is a no-no and a habit that comes from my childhood, but I wasn’t going to go back up to my room to put on my shoes. I implored the people behind the front desk to help me and give me dollar bills for the vending machines. With crisp dollar bills in hand. I made my way back up to the 21st floor. The soda machine took the first dollar bill and decided that it was full and could not take any more dollars. “What fresh hell is this?” was running through my head again; on to the next odd numbered floor! Finally, I was able to get two sodas and made it down to my floor and before you try to second guess me, I had the room key with me the entire time.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
