Golden Legacy

First off, the winner of last week's Try Dying book Contest was Holly Johnson. Congrats to Holly! I'll be holding another contest next week for two copies of For Parents Only, a Christian guide to parenting teens.

Yesterday, I went to the doctor's office to learn how to give myself my first shot of Enbrel. I hate needles; I can't even watch when they take my blood. So I spent the weekend in a state of low-grade panic. I couldn't even begin to imagine putting a needle into my own body. Monday as my fear started to ratchet up to hysteria, I put it in the Lord's hands, and he reminded me that fear is not from Him. It was ok to be nervous, but the amount of fear I had was unnecessary. I had to wait a bit at the doctor's office, but I'm so glad that I went and didn't try to do it myself at home. A nurse, Mary, took me into a small room and took me through the whole procedure step by step. She even had a fake thigh to try it out on. It looks like a fetal heart monitor, but you strap the band around your thigh, and there's a flesh colored squishy area on top that you can use to practice inserting the needle. Mia couldn't take even the practice round, so the other nurses were kind enough to take her under their care until I was through. So here' the procedure. I wash my hands, then take an alcohol swab and wash the area on my upper thigh. I have to wait a few minutes for the alcohol to dry or it can cause burning when the needle goes in. Then I take the tip off of the syringe and depress the plunger to get rid of the air bubble at the top. The needle has a beveled tip and has to be inserted so the longer part is down. When I push the bubble out, a little bit of fluid comes out, so it's easy to see which is the top. Then I squeeze my thigh a bit and push the needle in. That's really the hardest part. The psychological barrier is much thicker than the physical one when it comes to putting a needle in your own flesh. Once I felt the light prick of the needle, it was a do or die moment. So I did. And it didn't hurt that badly. Then I depress the plunger as slowly or as quickly as I'd like. It can burn a little bit going in, so the control is nice. Once it's all in, I take a piece of gauze and put it over the needle, and as I pull the needle out, I press down with the gauze and maintain pressure for about a minute to absorb any blood and also to avoid lumps. It did burn a bit when it came out. All that was left to do is put on a band-aid. The spot isn't at all sore today, and you can't even see where I did it. Now I wait for the medicine to kick in. Mary said it could be in a week, or up to three weeks. I'm a little proud of myself for being able to do it, and I have a great deal more admiration for patients with diabetes who have to give themselves a shot every day. My dad payed me a compliment last night. He said that he can dig under his skin with a knife or tweezers for a sliver or ball bearing, but he doesn't think that he could give himself a shot. It's not as bad as I thought it would be, and when I was done, I felt strangely calm. I had done something I didn't think I would ever be able to do, with the Lord's help, of course.

Golden Legacy by Leonard S. Marcus is the story of Little Golden Books. How did they come to be, how did they change the market for children's books, whose careers did it start up, etc. I don't think I could gush enough about this book. It's absolutely beautiful. Marcus tells the story of the Western Publishing Company out of Racine, Wisconsin from its earliest beginnings. This small company started out just as printers but when the publishing company they printed a lot of books for collapsed, Western bought them out and embarked upon their colorful and successful career in children's books. The book is filled with breathtaking illustrations; it reminded me of everything that I loved about Little Golden Books as a little girl. And who doesn't have a favorite Little Golden Book? I think every child for the last 65 years has been impacted by these books. My mom still collects Eloise Wilkin books. My favorites were The Golden Egg Book by Margaret Wise Brown and The Bunny Book by Richard Scarry. LGBs changed the children's book market by selling beautiful books for a price that parents could afford to purchase. At a quarter a piece, every child could own at least one, which encouraged reading at home. The books were also focused on the idea of writing for children about Here and Now as opposed to fairy tales. There are tales of the discovery of Richard Scarry and Gustaf Tenggren, and current children's authors as interviewed as to how LGBs impacted their lives and art. This would make a great Christmas present for any book collector, especially boomers who will be thrilled to see pictures from their childhood. As for me, it reminded me of the joy I found in these books as a child, and I've officially added them to my daughter's Christmas list.

Mia is such a hoot in the morning. Today after I woke her up for school, she crawled back into bed and said she was too tired to go. I explained that today was her last day before Thanksgiving vacation, to which she burst into tears saying, "But I'll miss school!" She's going to make some poor man completely crazy some day.