Choose to LIVE!!!!

 

The unfortunate part of diabetes is we have accepted mortality. We do not wish for it to happen, we hope with all our being we can keep it from showing up too soon, but we have accepted it. Why? Because with Diabetes it’s just always that underlying fear. I talked about previously not letting your fear become your enemy, instead submit to knowing that fear is there and work instead to defeat that fear. Mortality is that fear, at least for me.

We’ve faced mortality, told it to take a back seat, and accepted that one day it will come, but not too son. So in accepting this fear, it has opened up a new world, a whole new way of thinking. When you accept mortality you can now choose to LIVE.

Instead of worrying, and giving into your fear, choose to live your life to the fullest. Choose to fill each waking minute with memories. Choose to love those around you with all that you are. Choose to slow down and soak in all that life has to offer. Choose to freaking live instead of fear.

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Remember at some point we all struggle, we all battle that fear. I have moments that the fear tries to creep back in, I have moments where I just want to cry and let the fear consume me. Instead I muster up all the strength that I can to put that fear away to take and show it that instead of submitting to it, instead of letting it in, I am going to win, if even for one day. Take it one day at a time but choose to live!

Diabetes is already here, and right now it’s not going anywhere. Take it by the neck, lead it in the direction that YOU want and LIVE!

Never Let Your Fear Be Your Enemy

~To fear is one thing.  To let fear grab you by the tail and swing you around is another.  ~Katherine Paterson~

We all get afraid, we all have fear, but it’s when you let fear become your enemy that it consumes you.  When you deal with or live with diabetes you cannot let your fear, that fear of the “Unknown” be your enemy. Instead learn how to coexist with your fear and move forward. When you make the decision to co-exist, rather than submit to the fear, you will start to learn an important lesson in life with a chronic illness.

That lesson is that in fact you can live your life to the fullest, and be just like everyone else. While living with diabetes you have to be more attentive and pay more attention to detail, you don’t have to live with the fear that something will go wrong. Living your life with constant worry is not a way to live. Instead learn to co-exist rather than submit to your fear and above all else, celebrate the small victories.

Did you wake up with a bg of 100 today, freaking celebrate the crap outta that. Celebrate a drop in your a1c, celebrate you completed the race, celebrate you woke up freaking alive today! That is one celebration everyone should participate in daily.

Bottom line, co-exist, do not submit and celebrate the crap outta everything!

The Scariest Journey I Make

Have you ever had a scary moment in life, that made you think to yourself “Whew glad that’s over”. Well that moment in the life of a D Parent happens more often than not, except we don’t get to say “Whew Glad that’s over”, because it never is. The scariest journey I make is during the mornings that Clifford doesn’t wake up early on his own like the rest of the kids. Instead he’s quiet, in his room, hopefully sleeping.

That journey I had to relive again this morning. I walked up the stairs, said a little prayer, slowly made my way to his room. At that moment I felt like I wanted to peek out with only one eye open to see if he was in fact sleeping or even breathing for that matter. Good news, this morning he was just tired, and slept in, and woke up with a BG of 116!

But it was in those few short moments on my walk to his room, that I felt my heart pounding right out of my chest in fear of the “What if”, “What if I didn’t test him enough during the night”, “What if the decisions made during the night weren’t right”, and “What if despite all my efforts D decided to take him from us”….

I cannot explain that fear, it’s one that I live with daily, and just really try to bury inside telling D that it will not win, it will not succeed. Instead of giving into the fear, we go about our day like any one else would. But it’s in those few short moments during a walk to his room, because he slept a little later, that the fear creeps up again once more without my permission.

How Do You Get Through Your Day?

When it comes to diabetes the one thing that is always a constant is making it through the day without much hassle from the big D. I don’t know about everyone else, but sending a T1D kid to school can be a bit overwhelming, and scary experience. In addition to the daily work needed to be done just to manage the disease and keep it at bay, it’s surprising that all of us aren’t in the hospital hooked up to caffeine IVs just to keep us running.

Diabetes takes a lot out of you as the T1D, and as the family members and caregivers to a T1D. We make it through our day with the normal daily routine in tack, come home from school, homework, dinner, playtime, bedtime snack and bed. Then starts the wonderful process of overnight testing, second guessing, correcting, treating, sleep drinking, sleep eating, hoping the ants don’t come from crumbs or juice spills, cleaning blood off of sleeping fingers, and the fight to get the blood sample on a strip when your T1D kid is low. I don’t know about you all but when Clifford is low he tends to pull away and fight me in his sleep. 9 times out of 10 when he fights he’s low.  Next we wake up and do it all over again.

With D in the mix, how do you manage to get through your day and still look pretty doing so????

Invisible Illness Week!

What is an invisible illness? It is an illness that you do not see on the outside. Everyday many people all around the world live with an invisible illness. You wouldn’t be able to tell they are suffering from their outward appearance, but on the inside their illness is trying it’s hardest to reek havoc on their body.

This week started invisible illness week. It’s one week a year to spread the word about those living with an invisible illness. Type 1 diabetes just happens to be one of the many invisible illnesses that many suffer from on a daily basis. On the outside you cannot tell that Clifford suffers from a chronic/invisible illness that will never go away.

On the inside however, well that’s a different story. His illness is trying it’s very best to take over his body, but we’re fighting back every step of the way. I am happy to report we are doing our very best in that fight, his newest A1c, 6 months after pumping was 6.3%! Clifford and I took a moment to have a brief high five for a job well done in the Endo’s office and moved on. We live with the attitude of bolus and move on, so the same goes for A1c. I’d love to say it’s just a number and I don’t let that define me as a parent to a D child. But to me it’s my D mom report card, and this time I passed!  But I’m trying to turn over a new leaf, Stay Calm, A1c and move on!

Using Personalized Books to Get Kids to Read

 

*Guest Post from HB Redbird on how to get your kids more interested in reading. Even though my blog is focused around Type 1, reading is very important in children’s lives. We encourage it greatly in our home and I thought it would be beneficial to get the word out there with this beautifully written guest post.

Next to math, getting a child to read is becoming increasingly difficult. Attention spans are getting shorter, and the desire to play video games is getting greater. One of the best ways to encourage a child to read is to cater to their desire for everything to be about them. Personalized books are a sure fire way to do that.

 

What are Personalized Books?

Books that include a child’s name, their age, where they live, and even their friends are what set personalized books apart from other books. They take characters that children love, such as Sesame Street, and put the child into the story. You fill out a form for the company to enter the information into the book while printing. The books can be entertaining or they can be educational. Some companies will even put a dedication to the child at the front of the book.

Places to Buy

One of the best places to purchase personalized books is at Flatten Me. Flatten Me takes personalized books to a whole new level. They include the child’s name, but also family photos can be added to the characters. Children enjoy seeing their name in stories; however, they also are drawn into the illustrations in the book. Seeing your parent as a superhero in a book, or see themselves as a pirate, their imagination is drawn to the book. The company has books geared for all ages so you can encourage all children, or adults, to read with this company.

Other Products

Along with personalized books, another way to get a child interested in reading is having them write. Writing takes what they have learned while reading, and makes them practice making the same sounds. Flatten Me takes your child’s picture and puts it on the cover of a journal. If you have a child who likes horses, gift them the Just Horsin’ Around journal. Then you can gift them a personalized book where they can write down their thoughts about the book. This can be made into a lesson by having them write how they would change the story.

Another creative product that Flatten Me provides is personalized wall art that you can create personalized reading spaces. Your child that enjoys horses, use the Just Horsin’ Around wall art. Throw in some horse pillows and a fuzzy rug, and your child will be dying to read in their spot daily.

Children are naturally inquisitive and have short attention spans. It is imperative to cater teaching them to their learning style. If your child is fighting you on learning to read, go to their natural desire to be the center of the world and get them a story that stars them. You know your child the best, so chose a style of book that will keep their attention. At the beginning, do not worry if they only want to read personalized comic books or personalized books on fighting dragons. They are still learning letter sounds and blends. Before you know it, they will want to read longer books and the personalization can be a treat for birthdays or special holidays.