Giving Thanks.

I love that Thanksgiving falls during Diabetes Awareness Month.  It gives me a nice nudge to not only reflect on all the usual things I'm grateful for, but to think about all the things involving diabetes that I'm thankful for, too.

Some of the things I'm been thinking about over the last few days are:

• My family: I'm so grateful to have a family that supports my diabetes efforts! My husband wakes up in the middle of the night with me if I'm low. He never complains that we spend so much of our money on medical costs. He doesn't see me as "sick".  I know not everyone has as supportive of a spouse as I do, and I know how lucky I am to have him.  I'm also grateful for my extended family, and how supportive they are, too! 
• Modern Medicine: I marvel at this every year. When I think about what it was like to be diabetic even 20 years ago, I feel lucky to be alive now.  As much as I complain about how much things cost, or how things don't work perfectly, I really am grateful for what I do have.
• Diabetes: Sometimes I sit and fantasize about what my life would be like without diabetes. It would be amazing! But, then I think about all the people I've known and all the things I've learned, and the person I've become because I have diabetes, and I realize that have to be grateful for it, at least in some sense. 

I hope you all are having a wonderful Thanksgiving, and that you're taking the time to think about the things you are grateful for. I know not everyone's life is sunshine and roses all the time, but I do think that every person has at least one thing they can find to be thankful for.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Word Diabetes Day

Today is Word Diabetes Day.  I'm posting this pretty late today-I've been travelling most of the day- but I still wanted to take some time to commemorate what today is about.  World Diabetes Day is about creating awareness about the impact diabetes has on the world.  When we talk about the impact diabetes has on the world, we talk a lot about how many people have diabetes, how many people will get diabetes, the financial burden of diabetes, the human toll of diabetes, etc., etc., etc.  Instead of focusing on all of those things, though, I'd like to take my cue from a friend of mine from diabetes camp, who posted this on her facebook page today:

"I just celebrated 18 years of living with (and not suffering from) this chronic illness. It shapes who I am on a daily basis."

Diabetes certainly has an impact on the world, but it's not always a bad one. I'm a better person because I have diabetes. Like my friend, I believe I am living with (and not suffering from) diabetes. Some days it sucks.  It affects me every day. But it also shapes me every day-into stronger, more understanding, more compassionate person.  So today, I want to celebrate the the lives of all those living with diabetes, I want to honor all those who love and care for people living with diabetes, and want you all to know that diabetes can have a positive impact in the world!

Diabetes Awareness Month!

Did you know that November is National Diabetes Awareness Month? Chances are, if you're reading this blog, you already did.  Last year, I blogged every single day about diabetes, to create awareness in my sphere of influence, and to educate people on some of the less understood things about diabetes.  If you want to read those posts, they start here.

This month is just a smidge busier than November last year, so I am not going to be quite as much of a diabetic rock-star.  But, I still want to post some things in honor of this month and in honor of those who live with diabetes, or are affected by diabetes on a daily basis.

Last year, I wrote a lot about the basics of what diabetes was, how it is treated, stuff like that. This year, I want to make my awareness blogging a little more personal. I'm going to be travelling a lot these next few weeks, but I do plan to do a few posts about how diabetes specifically affects me, on a personal level.  I'm not very good at sharing my inner personal thoughts and feelings, but I will try hard to do so, knowing that what really matters with raising diabetes awareness is not that people can quote how many Americans will have diabetes by 2040, or the details of how a pancreas works, but that they will know and understand the impact this disease has on the individual.

So, stick with me, this month, peeps!

And, until my next post, please check out this amazing video where a little girl explains how diabetes affects her, in her own beautiful words!