What Does It Take To Eat Out?

Yesterday was our first real “eating out” challenge. Two challenges, in fact. Previously, we had attended a couple of birthday parties, but they were just next door and across the street, so we could always run home if there was need to do so. And there were private powder rooms to do our thing in.

Yesterday was our homeschool group’s Park Day, and for the first time this year we met at our summer location, “The Duck Park”. Our usual park is within walking distance from the house, but The Duck Park is about a 20 minute drive. And, we’ve moved our meeting time up from 1:00 pm to 11:00 am when it’s a little cooler, so it’s in the middle of lunch time. So, after a light breakfast, we pack up, drop by one of our favorite local digs, Jen’s New York Deli, for some subs, and head for the park. What do we pack? Among the usual “stuff” needed for a park outing with kids, we pack T-Bear’s cami kit, a very cool little kit that Dr. A gave T-Bear at his first visit.


And, because it was 90 degrees yesterday, I packed a small lunch cooler with ice to keep the insulin in. Insulin spoils if it reaches 90 degrees or freezes.

So, here are the contents of T-Bear’s cami kit:

*Glucose testing kit (multi-click lancet, glucose monitor, test strips, alcohol wipes and bandaids)
*Portable insulin kit (holds insulin, syringes, alcohol wipes and bandaids)
*The all important “rocket” injection device
*Log book and pen
*Emergency juice and snack
*Keytone test strips
*Hand sanitizer
*Emergency glucose tablets
*Emergency glucose gel
*Emergency glucose crash kit

So, I managed to remember to pack everything (almost), get our lunch, and get to the park. Because it was crowded yesterday, our group was not able to snag our usual picnic table, and settled for the fountain benches near the play ground. T-Bear, of course, was starving as soon as we arrived, so off we went to the restroom area to do our pre-meal prep. Of course, the restrooms themselves are not appropriate for doing testing and injecting, because there is no flat surface (other than the top of the trash can) to set out our cami kit, and they’re not exactly what I would call hygienic. So, after washing up, we staged ourselves at a picnic bench near the restrooms. Testing was fine, but once I got T-Bear’s dose ready, I realized I didn’t pack the all-important rocket. He was going to have to inject without it, didn’t want to do it himself, and wanted privacy. Well, eventually we compromised and he agreed to have me inject him discretely under the table since there wasn’t anyone around, and there was no place to set our open kit in the restroom. Pack up cami kit, and go eat.

That was our first challenge of the day. Our second came about because of my own brilliant idea. “Let go out for Mexican for dinner”. I was really craving comfort food; beans, rice and margaritas. Packed up, and off we went. This time, I had backup. Since we were sitting at a booth, I discretely tested T-Bear at the table, and once I’d figured out how much T-Bear was likely to eat (a LOT of carbs!), I gave Papa Bear the number and sent him off to the men’s room with T-Bear to dose. Apparently it went fine, because I didn’t hear any stories afterward.

So, those were our two adventures in eating yesterday. On tap for today: Book Club at S’s house. It’s a little bit of a drive. In the middle of lunchtime. Involving snacks. Excuse me while I go calculate our day…