The cool thing about being a D-Mom

Do you wanna know what's cool about being a D-Mom? Realizing that you can do anything...literally anything.

I spent 31 years of my life thinking I could do a lot of stuff...maybe not everything...but a lot of things, nonetheless. I spent 4 of those years thinking I could do a decent job at being a Mom. I mean I could take care of my child and keep her safe. I could feed her and clothe her and make her smile just by making a silly face. But ever since that fateful day that she was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, I truly learned that I could do absolutely anything.

I learned that I could keep another human being alive on a daily basis. I could stick needles in the one person I loved more than anything else on the planet. I could cause her pain...I could hold her down with one hand and jab that needle into her thigh with the other. I could do all of those things and then dry her tears and still make her smile just by making a silly face.

I learned that I don't need a lot of sleep to be able to function. In fact, I learned that I don't need ANY sleep to be able to function. I learned that I could stay up until the wee hours of the morning battling low blood sugars or high blood sugars...and still get up the next day and make her breakfast and get her off to school.

I learned that I have the strength and the determination to endure whatever life throws at me...whatever diabetes throws at me. I learned that I have the ability to adapt to any situation or any obstacle that comes my way. I can stand there in a crowded airport terminal...surrounded by hundreds of travelers...and still give my daughter her dinner and the injection of insulin she needs to go along with it.

I learned that I can be prepared. I may have doubted my abilities at being organized and prepared for any possible scenario before....but since diabetes entered our lives, I've seen that I can be ready...I can be prepared...I can be organized.

I learned that I have more patience than I ever thought was humanly possible. I can sit there on her bedroom floor at 2:00am staring at the clock...waiting for 15 minutes to pass before I can check her blood sugar again to make sure it's not dangerously low anymore. I have spent the last 5 years patiently waiting for a cure. I have hope....hope that the day will come...and realistic knowledge that it's possible that the day may never arrive in my lifetime.

I think the fact that diabetes invaded our lives is something that I accepted long ago. I had to accept it to be able to continue on with our lives. I am greatful that it has made me see that I am patient...I am determined....I am accepting.....and most of all, that....

....I am strong....

....and I can do anything.