“Mom, why do you wear that bracelet again?” She knows why, but every few months, she asks again. Why do I wear a medical alert bracelet? Why is that thing as important to leaving the house as having my keys? “I wear it because it says I have diabetes, just in case someone needs to know.” “Why would they need…
Mr. Guy Smiley, Hallelujah!!! You have started SLEEPING and it makes me want to hit the caps lock and sing your praises. Thank you, sweet boy, for finally deciding that nighttime is the best time to sleep. I don’t even care if you ever nap predictably during the day because you sleep at night. (Remind me I said that.) Your…
Diabetes’s needs are incessant. WAAH I need to have my blood sugar checked WAAH I need a snack WAAH the Dexcom sensor needs swapping WAAH what do you mean, reorder insulin WAAH chronic illness is forever WAAAAAAAAAAH. This disease whines and cajoles for attention all day long. Over the weekend, I stood at the bathroom counter changing my infusion set…
Muted.
Diabetes and Emotions, Diabetes and Family, Diabetes Community, Diabetes Online Community, Diabetic MommyAhh bullet points. Ye be the only(e) way I can process things at the moment. I don’t have a lot to say over here lately, and there are a dozen different reasons for that. One is that the new baby kiddo keeps me extremely busy, what with his cluster feeding and chatty ways, and also the fact that he is…
This whole mom thing is a little easier, in some respects, the second time around. And it’s simultaneously harder by a frigging long shot. It’s easier because my son’s arrival wasn’t as jarring as his sister’s. Going from no kids to one kid was like WHOA. Going from one kid to two kids was lowercase whoa. Chris and I are…
“How do you explain diabetes to her?” How do you explain diabetes to your kid? I wish there was a strategy, a predictable path that conversations about health and wellness could take, like when my daughter brings out The Game of Life and I want to replace all the normal life stuff with the diabetes versions I marked as milestones along…
Day in the Life of a New (Old) Mom … with Diabetes.
Diabetes and Family, Diabetic Mommy, Real Life DiabetesSix years ago, I was adjusting to motherhood for the first time during Diabetes Blog Week, and one of the post prompts was to write about a day in the life with diabetes. My day in the life was flanked on all sides by figuring out what to do with a newborn, so I chronicled that. And just before my…
It’s been very quiet here on my blog, and this is because my body and mind entirely are being slowly devoured by the baby. I’m nine days away from my scheduled c-section (but past 38 weeks, so could go into labor on my own any time) and my body hasn’t ever been this pregnant before. The baby apparently likes being…
(Edit: I had originally written “naval gazing” instead of “navel gazing.” Thus illustrating the point of this post, which is that my mind is quickly becoming mush. Thanks, Bobby, for the edit. 🙂 ) It’s week 35 of this fetus party. All I have left to give are bullet points. My stomach moves. Often. To be more precise, it’s my…
Perspectives on Diabetes: Why Children with Diabetes Matters.
Diabetes Advocacy, Diabetes and Emotions, Diabetes and Family, Diabetes Community, Diabetes Online Community, Psychosocial Support, Real Life Diabetes, RelationshipsPeople ask me why this conference matters, why the organization matters, and it’s sometimes hard to sum up. What’s so great about sitting in a room full of people with diabetes? Isn’t it like surrounding yourself with a reminder of something that is a pain in the butt (diabetes)? Doesn’t it suck to talk about diabetes all the time? DUDE….
Looking Back: Rules of Love.
Diabetes Advocacy, Diabetes and Family, Real Life Diabetes, RelationshipsToday, in response to spending the day fighting traffic for yet another installment of “how long will I be in the waiting room?” at the doctor’s office, I’m revisiting a post from 2012 about love, PWDs, and permission. It still blows my mind that this book was published, and I remain appreciative of how far we’ve come. See also: eff…
A Fonder Heart.
Diabetes Advocacy, Diabetes and Family, Diabetes Community, Diabetes Online Community, Psychosocial Support, Real Life DiabetesSpending a few weeks offline was nice. Good for me. Removed that panic from, “What can I write today?” and replaced it with, “What can I do today?” Stepping away from my website for the bulk of December was in efforts to shake the dust off my advocacy and outreach efforts by allowing a little room to not advocate or…
Summer is coming to a close over here and as we prepare to send Birdzone to kindergarten, I am spending the last few days of summer with my child velcro’d to me. In an appreciation for family and for how mine handled diabetes as I was growing up, I wanted to look back at a post from five years ago…
Entering the Mancave.
Diabetes and Family, Diabetes Community, Diabetes Complications, Diabetes Online Community, Psychosocial Support, Real Life DiabetesThere are issues we talk about openly in the diabetes community – tips on how to wear a pump, resources for good diet and nutrition, exercise goals, frustrations with blood sugar control, research, and on and on. All of these topics matter because they play a role in diabetes management, and life as a whole. But some of these topics…
A Matter of Apologies.
Blood Sugars, Diabetes and Emotions, Diabetes and Family, Diabetic Mommy, Psychosocial Support, Relationships“I was low. I was frustrated because of the low blood sugar. I’m sorry.” “It’s okay,” and I can tell she means it by the look in her friendly, brown eyes. I used to be very terrible at saying, “I’m sorry.” I would hold on to frustration and anger in a way that was not good for me or anyone…
While I was making lunch for my daughter this afternoon, she occupied herself with construction paper, markers, scissors … and my glucose meter, glucose tabs, insulin pump, Dexcom, and lancing device. “Mom, I made all of your diabetes things.” Hard working artist. #diabeticmommy A photo posted by Kerri Sparling (@sixuntilme) on Jul 16, 2015 at 10:24am PDT Her creations. #diabetes…