It never gets easier...

I know, I know... I have been terrible about blogging lately and I apologize for that. I have just finished the first rounds of tests in college, all my drug screening/vaccinations for ER position which starts October 6th, and the other two T1Trio members have just about completed their first month of school!

Though the school year always proves to be crazy, it helps to look at the positive side of it! For one, I have already met four other Type Ones on campus!!! We eat lunch together, exchange numbers, and smile at each other when we hear the melodious sound of a pump alarm echoing in the dining common. :) 

Another bright spot is going to be Camp Marrakesh this coming October. It is a diabetes camp weekend run by the American Diabetes Association. The camp is for newly diagnosed (within 1 year of diagnosis) children and their families! This year we have been asked to be the host family! Pretty much we get to greet, speak, and interact on a personal level with the families. Our family is thrilled to take part in such an awesome opportunity. Getting to be with newly diagnosed families brings me to this question:

"How does one get past the "beginning" of their diabetic journey?"

A journey with a disease that works to ensnare your attention, joy, and hope.

 I feel like I have had diabetes for 10 years . . . in reality- its only been 1 1/2 years. That's not very long. 

At max our family has had diabetes in our life for 4 1/2 years. That's not very long either.

I look for it to get easier. Some people already assume that it is. We have three kids with the same disease, it seems like we have been dealing with this for a long time, we look like we have it all under control. 

And in a way we do. But at the same time, uncaring comments still cut, finger pricks still sting, insulin still burns, sites still become infected, insulin goes old, blood sugars go high, blood sugars go low . . . every detail of this disease still feels like a "big deal" to me. 

Will it always be this way? I'm not sure. 

I watch my new T1D friends that have this disease for 18+ years and still cringe at the pain of a finger prick, still have bad sites, and still have bad blood sugars;

But

I also see myself, my siblings, my T1 friends, and most T1s I meet have one common characteristic: we have to keep getting better.

As a fellow Blogger/D-Mom would say:

It never gets easier . . . you get better!

(Inspiration by Tina: www.stickwithitsugar.com)

Thankfulness Is Relief: by Tina Hatchett

Thankfulness Is Relief

There are “seasons” in life that are so difficult you simply struggle to breath.

You wonder if it will ever end.

            For some, there is no light at the end of the tunnel.  This is their life now.  The path has been set, the die cast…this cross will be carried until death.

            How do these courageous lives bear up?  Who in the face of great adversity displays strength of character, and even the will to sacrifice for the needs of other?  The reality of diabetes cannot be escaped or ignored…and yet there must be relief and rest found. 

As we see the gifts all around us, it adjusts our “lenses." It adjusts our perspectives.  It gives us hope.  It reveals love all around us… many times wearing shoe leather. 

As I have counted my numberless blessings this week, I am humbled by the love shown to us:

1.     Our children loving their new school, schedule, and friends.  Diabetes had made our world very “small.” How good it is to breath air among the living again. As our Pastor said last week, “Hope is an amazing thing!”

2.     A phone call last night from a dear friend; just calling to help the children with math homework.

3.     A bushel of beautiful homegrown apples. Applesauce that tastes like “liquid gold.”

4.     Visits from friends - both old and new - that encourage, uplift, and strengthen our family.

5.     A look that says “I believe in you.”

6.     An excellent husband: loving, patient, loyal, tireless, funny, burden bearing, always believes the best in me.  You know you married the right one when you only grow to love each other more.

7.     Friends who are willing to read the pink panther diabetes book just so they can help our children to feel safe.

As you can see, remembering brings relief. 

We are not alone. 

Trials make the relief even sweeter.  Not when this trial is over; we would prefer to fast forward this. 

The relief comes in the trial.  Relief comes from thanksgiving.