Chatting with the fellow at my doctor visit yesterday, she seemed to marvel at the randomness of my life and my activities any given day. Then she said she has seen that a lot of diabetics are afraid to do anything active, and that it sort of spills into other areas of their lives, too.
Gah.
I think people with diabetes try to focus on their disease and what that job requires and somehow give themselves permission to stop doing that other job they have.
Because we really have an incredibly important and highly specialized job we are in charge of every minute of every day when we function for our pancreas, or try to function for our pancreas. But we have a simultaneously just as important job we are in charge of, exactly like everyone else: we are in charge of LIVING OUR LIVES.
I’m willing to bet that the scientists involved in discovering, testing, and manufacturing insulin, long acting insulin, short acting insulin, metformin, glucophage, what have you were not in it so that we could all hole up on the couch and say “I’m done now.”
I think everyone is working so hard to actually make our lives BETTER… but WE have to meet them more than halfway. WE have to have lives we are already living!!
To wait, patiently or impatiently, for a cure or for the next latest and greatest thing to come around that will make our self care better or easier is not what I think my life with diabetes is or should be about. If you feel that you need to wait until you have the opportunity to live, well, I would respond that you already gave up.
I’m not afraid of being high or going low or finding myself in a situation where I need to stop and go into a store and ask for some Coke even though I have no money on me. I’m not waiting for someone else to do anything– I’ve taken responsibility for my own life and whatever that requires. Yes, that will involve some time outs while I check my BG or eat something for a low or go home for more insulin. It will, because I can’t possibly prevent every little thing from derailing my best intentions or plans… so I don’t try to. I just do my best and forgive myself if and when I screw it up.
I’m glad I have, and I wish for everyone reading this that you have, too. Life is simply too short to spend a moment of it waiting for someone ELSE to do something YOU need to be doing.
Embrace your life. You’ll be glad you did.
Hmm! Interesting thought! Maybe another way to look at it is that we find a routine that we are comfortable with, one that we find some success in managing our numbers with, and are hesitant to step outside of that routine.
I’m totally that way with food – afraid to try new things because I’m not sure how it will go with my blood sugar.