Teen Driving

Today I woke up to a horrible story in the news. A fifteen year old was killed in a car accident. There were three other kids also injured in the accident. One of them, another fifteen year old girl, was in critical condition. The article went on to explain that the kids were speeding and hit a deer. They then lost control of their vehicle. What remains of their vehicle is displayed on the left.

A month or two ago a sixteen year old girl was driving on a residential street. The sun was in her eyes as she traveled up the hill.  She noticed a car coming down the hill towards her and swerved out of the way at the last minute. She never saw her classmate walking along the side of the street bouncing a basketball. She ran over her 15 year old classmate and killed her. You can read that story here.

I have heard stories like this all my life. Now that my oldest daughter, also 15, got her permit… it hits a little closer to home. I am sure that their parents, like me, preached every chance they got to not text and drive. But in both of these accidents, the driver texting was not a factor. Both accidents were just that… accidents. Yet lives were taken. Lives who never had a chance to go to a prom, graduate, go to college, get married, have children. Lives that were robbed.

I look at my children, praying that I never see them involved in any accident like the ones mentioned above. But as a parent, how do you teach your children to avoid this fate? What can I say or do that will get through to them?

Today I hug my children extra tight, because their lives are so fragile. And I trust in my God to protect them. I also know that He knew the day they would die before they were born. It still doesn’t stop my heart from breaking for the poor parents who received that call  this morning.

Uh-Oh a tummyache!

I have watched many colleagues, friends, and family members clutch their tummy in pain as they are suffering from one ailment or another. I felt bad for them but couldn’t really sympathize because I never really suffered any real pain in my stomach.

That has now changed. For a few months I have noticed that when I get hungry, it is more than just typical hunger pains. It is dire that I get something in my stomach or else I have serious pain.

A few weeks ago I started feeling a horrible pain in my upper stomach when I got stressed with things going on. At first I thought it was just an emotional reaction, but I started noticing that it became very physical as well. In the last few weeks I have noticed the pain in my upper tummy after the stress has dissipated.

I was going to let it go, deal with the pain and move on, but my husband insisted I see a doctor about it. On Saturday night the pain got so bad he took me to the Emergency Room. The doctor there thought I might have ulcers. He told me to see a GI.

So, that is what I am doing today. Fun, fun, fun.