The Ravioli Kid

I wrote this book. Yup...But I am not posting it because I feel the need to brag. I am proud of it, indeed, however I need to talk about the irony of this after what happened tonight.

L loves pasta - of course she does, or I would have never written a book called the Ravioli Kid. Tonight I bought some fresh organic ravioli for her dinner. She took one bite, after her insulin shot, of course, and refused to eat it because it had tomatoes in it.

The main character in the book is Stellina Pomodoro. Pomodoro in Italian is tomato. I can't believe I have a child who doesn't like tomatoes. It has been and is one of my favorite foods. More about that some other time.

For those of you familiar with Juvenile or Type 1 Diabetes, if you take an insulin shot, you HAVE to eat. If you don't eat you will go low, perhaps dangerously low. L has done this twice: once at home, once at camp. She had to have a "sugar shot" at camp (glucagon shot) She wasn't very happy about that. Nor was I.

I reminded her about that tonight, urged her to replace her carbs with another food choice, got mad. What else could I do? Have you ever tried to argue with a very drunk person and get their keys from them so they can't drive? That is what it is like to argue with a diabetic who is low.

But this is my child. First, I was angry because she was acting like a stubborn 8 year old, who I wanted send to bed with out dinner. However, that was not an option. The kid must eat, or, well, she could go into a diabetic coma. Nice...

She picked at her ravioli with big crocodile tears running down her cheeks. I had to leave the room and compose myself. Maybe she really didn't understand. I should take the time to teach her about her disease again, I thought. I went back into the kitchen and made her a peanut butter sandwich.

An hour later she says, "mommy, you are gonna be really mad, but I feel low." At least she noticed.

Sigh.