At least nothing died

Last night when I got home, I smelled a peculiar odor. Couldn't place it, and it got stronger as the night went on.

It was even stronger this morning, and I was afraid maybe something died in the living room ceiling. Now that thought put a panic into me--I can handle needles, blood sugar tests, even the occasional vomiting cat, but dead things...well, those send me over the edge.

I cautioned Mark about the smell, and left him to his breakfast. (A strawberry Ensure shake, which he loves, and can eat easily and quickly.) After breakfast, he proudly told me that he'd watered the living room plants. I was pleased that he'd used his extra time productively.

That is, until I walked past the ficus tree. The dirt had a strange tint to it, and as I walked closer, I realized I'd found the source of the offensive smell.

I hurried outside with the plant, only to discover that the strange tint in the dirt was a pinkish color--it looked strangely familiar. In fact, it looked EXACTLY like Mark's strawberry shake. What he'd neglected to tell me was that he'd "watered" the plants with his breakfast!

I don't know why he poured it in there--"I was full" was as close as I got to a confession. What's more troubling is that he was closer to the sink than he was to the plant. If he'd poured it down the sink, I never would've known he didn't drink the whole thing. And who the heck pours stuff in plants, anyway?? (I'll tell you who--little boys!)

I just sighed. At least this explained the scary low blood sugar he had yesterday morning, when he slipped down to 40 just an hour after breakfast (in-range blood sugar is between 70-150). I poured him a small glass of milk to replace the missing carbs from the shake.

Now I have to think of a fitting punishment for him. I feel bad for the kid, I really do--because of his diabetes, he doesn't get the luxury to stop eating when he's full (I ask him before every meal how much he's going to eat, and bolus appropriately--and he can always eat more later if he's still hungry). But If he's been bolused with insulin, he HAS to eat, or he goes low, with some pretty serious consequences. He doesn't get to say, "I'm not hungry" like other kids and go off to school, where 2 hours later, his grumbling stomach tells him maybe that wasn't such a good idea.

But tell that to the poor ficus, who just wanted a little water this morning, and instead, ended up with an extra dose of strawberry shake.