Yesterday, April 17^th, was our 1^st official day on this plan to improve and/or reverse Tiffany’s heart disease and diabetes.  Overall, the day went well.  Some of our goals for this first week are to drink at least 4 cups of freshly extracted juice daily, get some fresh air and sunshine, plan our meals, do the necessary shopping and be productive.  I may not have mentioned that Tiff and I have a great tendency toward laziness.  We expend the least amount of energy possible on any given day. We know that this has greatly contributed not only to the heart disease that we both have, but also to her diabetes and our obesity.  We are also aware that this is sin in our lives that needs to go away! Last evening we did a devotional together using the “Our Daily Bread” devotional guide.  The title of that day’s lesson was “Choices Matter”.  We were all able to connect this with what we are doing here, and it was very encouraging and a great reminder that we make choices and must live with the consequences of those choices – positive or negative. 

Today, April 18^th, has been a harder day.  Tiff and I both are feeling the effect of making ourselves get up and move around more.  I am already experiencing the effects of the detoxing that is going on in my body.  I feel tired, hungry, nauseated and a bit grumpy.  We knew that this was coming, just didn’t expect it to begin so early in this process.  I’m increasing my water intake in an effort to help this phase along more quickly. 

Our plan for productivity is to help Hannah with her house.  She is busy with work and does not have much time for home/household upkeep.  Our goal for productivity is to have her house in good order by the time that Tiff and I head home at the end of this 6 weeks. There is much to be done.  One of the benefits of this activity is that we get to go shopping often.  As a rule, I am not a big shopper these days.  I do enjoy bargain hunting and we are trying to do this as inexpensively as possible, so it is fun to go to estate sales and thrift stores.  We also have to be very aware that this is Hannah’s home and we need to be mindful that she may not like what we like or want us to make certain changes.  Overall, Hannah is a fairly easy-going person so we don’t want to take her for granted or push her to have things like Tiff or I would want them, but to make sure we consult with her often throughout the way.

I have never read a blog, let alone produced one myself.  When I told my brother that I was going to blog he encouraged me to do this as a way to have accountability and to be able to “write out” my feelings while going through this 6 weeks.  He compared blogging to journaling.  I know that journaling can be therapeutic.

The enormity of this task is sinking in with me. I must keep focused on the goal – to keep my daughter alive! Maybe it’s the detox talking, but I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed right now.   We are changing nearly every area of our lives.  Twice so far Tiff has sat down and cried briefly because of how poorly she is feeling and, I believe, her fear of what is happening with her body.  It breaks my heart.  As a little girl I could put her in my lap and rock her to reassure her that everything would be okay.  I can’t comfort her that way any longer.  As her mother and a nurse, I am able to give her some comfort.  When she begins thinking about dying and leaving behind her husband and 13-year-old, there is no comfort for her. 

Today we did accomplish our daily goals:  we sat out in the sunshine and fresh air, drank 4 cups of freshly extracted juice, shopped for tomorrow’s juice ingredients, got in some activity (although not a lot) and we were productive here at Hannah’s home.  I managed to get in about 48 ounces of water today – not as much as I need.  Will continue to increase my water intake.  In the words of Scarlett O’Hara “After all, tomorrow is another day.”