The Life

It used it to be "The New Normal". Thats what we all somehow call it. Like its whispered in our ears in the dark light of a hospital room, while we lie awake in terror. Our heads are opened up and doctors, nurses, endos, CDEs pour in all the new information as if our brains are sponges that can somehow soak up all that knowledge while really, they are reeling, screaming, "Why?"And "how?"And "please no!". Then, we are sent home and expected to be able to do it on our own. We stay up all night, squeezing blood from our babies fingertips, praying for the right numbers, and googling all the latest advances in research and technology and CURES because.......somewhere in Google, the ability to make it all go away exists. Somewhere, out there is the key to making us normal again.

Stop. Stop googling, stop crying, stop fearing. Yes, it's normal. It's part of the grief cycle. You grieve your "ordinary" life, your "perfect" child.  Eventually, you will burn out, and I think that is when you start  to actually live again. You tell diabetes to go screw itself, only deal with it when you have to and put it out of your head for the other 97% of the day. And..........YOU NEED TO DO THAT.  Your child needs you to do that. To stop hovering and asking and helicoptering!

Yes, stop helicoptering.

Your child is still normal, still perfect. What smothers a kid more than a pain in the butt disease? A paranoid, over bearing mom. And yes, I am Soooo guilty of that. But I see it now, and I step back and ask myself, does it HAVE to to be this way? Or is there a better way? A life out there to be that crazy thing we call normal, and not worry. It's there. It comes with acceptance. And knowledge. You will learn that it's really not the end of the world.

 I promise, it's not.

 You get your bearings, and then your footing. And one day you just realize, that hey, it's okay. And you find balance. The balance is.... interesting. You find yourself having conversations where you stress that yes, it's important, it really is, BUT....it's not. Wait, what? Yeah, it's important, but it's not, because it's okay most of the time, and WE CHOOSE NOT TO LET IT DEFINE US.And really if I could find a better way to try and make my point it is this:

Yes, diabetes is a big deal, it's important that people understand, there are dangers and the specific needs, BUT the other 99% of the time, it doesn't matter, so don't let it be an issue. It's all about balance. So, stop worrying about low blood sugars and let your kid be a kid and go jump, head first out of the neighbors tree onto a trampoline and break their wrist, because isn't that the kind of stupid thing kids do? Balance people,  let them BE KIDS. That's the key to being normal, let the kids lead the way. It will all be alright.



I promise.