Frozen with fear.

My way home from the gym takes me through the center of town, past Noah's school. Every day, as I drive by, I say a little prayer for a good day for my son. I think about him and hope he's doing OK. Like the movie Groundhog Day, the routine doesn't change. I go home the same way, see the same familiar homes, and make the same wish. Every day.

Today, it was the lights of the ambulance I saw through the rain, as I made my way up the hill towards the school. As it sped toward me, I pulled over and at once my shaking hand went to my gym bag to fish out my cell. My mind was reeling.

It was coming from the direction of school.

Oh God, please don't let it be Noah.

Where's that damn phone.

My searching hand found it's target. I hit the button on the front of my LG to see the familiar picture, and no messages. For good measure I flipped it open and called my home voice mail too. Empty. Thank you, God.

I was completely pulled off the road by now. I put the car in park and wept with my forehead on the steering wheel. The feeling of helplessness and panic that overcame me when I saw those lights was replaced by relief. After a minute, I lifted my head and saw I had pulled over right in front of Noah's school.

I said a little prayer for a good day for my son, and drove home.

Cool little product found in my local Wal-Mart.

Wal-Mart is a necessary evil in my life. I despise that place, yet I found myself there recently.

On a Saturday afternoon.

The plan was to get in (just TRY to block out that screaming 3 year old), pick up a few much needed things (toilet paper and sunblock!), and get the hell out (check-out lines stretched all the way to the Mass. border) with my sanity intact and maybe with some gas money to spare.

That's when, with my hands full, Noah begged me to go down the aisle with the "beach stuff". Juggling our loot, and with the check out in full view, I sighed heavily, and bid adieu to a quick getaway. "On to the beach stuff", I wearily exclaimed.

Amid the insane amount of swimmies, sand-castle making buckets and shovels, and a gazillion towels emblazoned with Iron Man and Hannah Montana, were these cool little things:



They are meant to protect your keys, ID, cash, or small cell phone from water at the beach or boating. I tend to D-purpose items not specifically created for diabetes, (Noah wears his pump in a cell phone case at night)and saw this case as the perfect place to stash some strips and meter. Although nifty, it's not very big, so I bought 2. They do sell bigger versions of these at places like EMS- I got my dad one for kayaking- but at just under $2.oo apiece, these were a great bargain.

Even if I did have to go to the 7th level of hell to get them.