So Much to be Thankful For

I woke up far too early, but I was excited to see my cousins.  My parents and I bundled up and headed to the pub to meet the rest of the family for breakfast.  I got to see my grandparents, three uncles, an aunt and four cousins that I wouldn't have been able to see otherwise.  (And there's also something to be said for Bailey's at 8AM.)  From there, we went to the Turkey Day football game.  It was pretty cold & windy, but we got to see more good friends and spend more time with my grandfather.  At halftime, Dad & I left because Mom's side of the family was at our house and it was time to start the festivities at home.  We laughed, we watched the Pats, we enjoyed all of our beverages and appetizers, and we set the table so we could watch the game during dinner.  (I drank apple pie martinis all afternoon, and every hour I bolused for 10g over the whole hour, and let me tell you, it worked!) 

Grammy made her potatoes, and mom followed her list, and we sat down to eat right as halftime ended.  There was delicious turkey, green beans, stuffing, rolls, twice baked potatoes, cranberry sauce, squash, gravy and I'm sure I'm missing some things.  We ate and those boys on the TV kept getting better and better, so we stayed and finished watching the game in there.  When the game was over, we cleaned up, and moved back in front of the wood stove.  After a while, we got out some pies, and my mom, aunt, and grandmother started singing.  The rest of us waited...Mom & my aunt took my grandmother back home, and the rest of us stayed and watched a movie.  Everyone else fell asleep at one point or another, but I managed to stay awake the whole day.  Around 8:00, we got out all the food again and had round two.  And from there we watched more football and movies, and we all went upstairs quite early to sleep.  And we woke up this morning and braved the roads to get to Tilton for Black Friday.  


I had a fabulous day with my family, with lots of boluses, lots of testing, and lots of "wow, I'm doing awesome!" today.  I hope that everyone else feels just as wonderful as I do today.  

Happy Thanksgiving

I am thankful for my family.  I know that this sounds generic, but especially this year.  It has been an all over the place year, and it starts with my parents.  When I started my first full time job, they were both there the morning I left.  When I moved in, I didn't have to do much because they were there.  When I was in the hospital, they were both there every day.   When my grandfather passed away, well, they were there to help me then too, even though mom was dealing with her own grief too.  On my birthday, which was probably one of the toughest days to get through for me, they made it a good day.  These are the big things, but every single day, they are there to support me.  I am thankful for the rest of my family too.  Where to start?  Well, there's the grandparents, the aunts, the uncles, the cousins, the cousins once removed, the second cousins and the family friends who might as well be family.  I got to enjoy seven full months of this year with my grandfather this year.  I got to tell him about Boy & Girl Genius, and their funny stories.  I may be devastated to have lost my first family member this year, but I got 24 years with four grandparents. That's pretty damn sweet!  I am thankful to all my aunts, being there for support and my uncles to bring laughs.  Not that the uncles wouldn't support me, it's just that the aunts are better at it.  I got more support this year from them, through private emails and cards on the hard days, and congratulations on the good days.  My cousins are there for support, like most people have siblings.  I love them for all their quirks, support, laughs and uniqueness.  I don't know where I'd be today if it weren't for them (even though most of them are younger than me).  And family friends, well, they've been there since the beginning too.  Back when I was tired all the time from working and commuting way too far, they were there to love me and bring me back to life for Monday morning.  And now that I am living super close to work and loving every minute of that, I still make the time for them, and them for me, and always leave with a smile on my face. 

I am thankful for my friends.  They are my backbone, my support, my shoulder to cry on, my group to laugh with, they are my everything.   When I didn't want to commute from NH to Boston every day, I lived with my roommate and her parents.  I have reconnected with old friends this year, which I couldn't be more grateful for.  I have made new friends as well, and who can't help but love new friends!  When it seemed life was being filled with death, they were there to help me live my life to the fullest.  I am thankful that I have friends on both sides of the country, and that I was able to see all of them this year.  I  didn't think that would be possible, and it's the best gift I could've given myself.  When life seems to knock me down, these are the people who always know how to pick me back up.  

I am thankful for my job.  Granted there are days when my bed is comfortable and I don't actually want to get up, but I look forward to seeing Boy & Girl Genius every day.  I know that every day there will be someone to hold my hand, give me a hug and making me laugh.  This week I was astonished when Boy Genius was talking about the differences between carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide (he's seven).  Other subjects we have talked about include manual transmissions, weather patterns, and building a remote control, battery operated car.  And then I get to be Tinkerbell hugging stuffed animals with Girl Genius.  Sure, there are days when I walk through the door and look at my roommate and say "give me a drink!"  But they are few and far between.  Mom & Dad Genius are also very supportive.  When I was in the hospital, they almost brought the kids to visit me, but Boy Genius was sick too.  They brought me to Utah, where I got to ski incredible powder, and that helped me reconnect with an old friend who lives there.  When my grandfather passed away, they found places for the kids to go so I didn't need to be at work.  They are some of the nicest people I've ever met.  I thank God every day for the opportunity to work with this family.  

I hope everyone has a fabulous holiday, filled with people you love, food too bountiful, lots of laughs, and everything else you want.  HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Thanksgiving

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and tomorrow you will get to see what I'm thankful for.  Now you get to hear about my holiday life as a diabetic. 


**Cue in stories, because I don't actually remember this.**  
I was four years old, and besides my birthday, I had never celebrated a holiday with diabetes.  (And by I, I actually mean we.)  On major holidays, my parents and I weren't the only ones with diabetes, the grandparents and cousins all had it too.  And back then, there was a strict diet, with a strict time table as well.  For those of you who never had the caloric diet, please don't feel bad.  It made me stronger and healthier and I still try to follow the basics of it.  That Thanksgiving was with my father's side of the family, and my mother and grandmother had figured out the time, just for me.  I am an only child, and even though there were a lot less cousins in 1989, family affairs were still loud and didn't start until all were present.  But that needed to change.  And everyone was told this.  The time rolled around when I needed to eat, and the chronically late uncle still wasn't there. So the rest of sat down and ate.  We said grace, we ate our turkey, stuffing and other good foods and we got loud.  And then Uncle Dan walked in the door.  And although I don't remember, I can picture "Mom!!" And her reply was something along the lines of "We told you it was different this year!  You should've listened."  And by no means am I dissing my uncle, but like I said, he is chronically late.  (His daughter is now the same way, so when I want to see her, I tell her to show up a half hour earlier than I actually want to see her.)
It's my original support group.  They were there at the beginning, and they'll be there forever. 


And how will this affect me tomorrow?  For thirteen years, I couldn't overeat on Thanksgiving.  But then I would see everyone else, unable to move, unbuttoning their pants and I thought, "you did this, why?"  Even after nine Thanksgivings where I can eat whatever I want.  My body doesn't allow overeating; at the end of the day, I'll feel good.  Tomorrow, I'll enjoy apple pie martinis with my mother, and we'll sit by the wood stove reminiscing about past Thanksgivings, I'll enjoy the turkey, stuffing, pies, and all the other delicious food.  I will get to eat it all, because I'll eat a lunch and a dinner, and I will feel fabulous.  It may not be the way most people experience this holiday, but it is the way me and my diabetes have celebrated it for 21 years.  Why change now?