“I think she is growing up, and so begins to dream dreams, and have hopes and fears and fidgets, without knowing why or being able to explain them.” ― Little Women

a few of my favorite quotes

"Perhaps, after all, romance did not come into one’s life with pomp and blare, like a gay knight riding down; perhaps it crept to one’s side like an old friend through quiet ways; perhaps it revealed itself in seeming prose, until some sudden shaft of illumination flung athwart its pages betrayed the rhythm and the music; perhaps . . . perhaps . . . love unfolded naturally out of a beautiful friendship, as a golden-hearted rose slipping from its green sheath."
— L.M Montgomery

" I want to marry a man prepared to swim against the tide"
- Elizabeth Elliot

"Hands are the thermometer of the heart.
And a heart that burns for it’s First Love — it flows like mercury to the hands that then reach out to warm a numbed world." Ann Voskamp

“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.
- Dr. Seuss

"I believe the nicest and sweetest days are not those on which anything very splendid or wonderful or exciting happens, but just those that bring simple little pleasures, following one another softly, like pearls slipping off a strings. –l.M Montgomery

"The fact that I am a woman does not make me a different kind of Christian, but the fact that I am a Christian does make me a different kind of woman.- Elizabeth Elliot

"Maturity starts with the willingness to give oneself." –Elizabeth Elliot

I acknowledge that He is control of everything in my life, and that He will work it all for my good and His glory. Therefore, I walk through the week trusting Him and obeying Him and rejoicing in Him, letting my mind dwell on things above.
This is walking by faith. This is the Christian life. Each week we get to begin again, laying a new foundation of worship. This is the day that the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it! ~ Nancy Wilson

"So many people are shut tight inside themselves like boxes, yet they would open up, unfolding quite wonderfully...if only you were interested in them."
- Sylvia Plath

"Stay, stay at home, my heart, and rest;

Home-keeping hearts are happiest,
For those that wander they know not where
Are full of trouble and full of care;
To stay at home is best.

Weary and homesick and distressed,
They wander east, they wander west,
And are baffled and beaten and blown about
By the winds of the wilderness of doubt;
To stay at home is best.

Then stay at home, my heart, and rest;
The bird is safest in its nest;
O’er all that flutter their wings and fly
A hawk is hovering in the sky;
To stay at home is best."- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

“When we lay the soil of our hard lives open to the rain of grace and let joy penetrate our cracked and dry places, let joy soak into our broken skin and deep crevices, life grows. How can this not be the best thing for the world? For us?” –Ann Voskamp


"Do I like jello?"
"Nice coat. Merry Christmas to you too. You're beautiful. Will you marry me? I love you!" -While You Were Sleeping

"Thank yer, ladies and gentlemen. Thank yer" -You've Got Mail

“You can't help respecting anybody who can spell TUESDAY, even if he doesn't spell it right; but spelling isn't everything. There are days when spelling Tuesday simply doesn't count.” - Winnie the Pooh

"To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

“I want to see beauty. In the ugly, in the sink, in the suffering, in the daily, in all the days before I die, the moments before I sleep.” –Ann Voskamp

The simple lack of her is more to me than others’ presence. -Edward Thomas

...for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. Philippians 4:11

"Clogged with wishes. I was wishing that my wishes were what God wished, and that if my wishes were not what God wished, I wished that I could wish that my wishes would go away, but the wishes were still there." -Elizabeth Elliot

There are far better things ahead than any we leave behind. -C.S Lewis

"Quite frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn" -Gone With the Wind

"That's Re-dikorus." -Tigger

Powered by Blogger.
blog title and description taken from my favorite artists- The Weepies - and their song Same Changes.

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

type 1 for a day.


back in November (yes, it has taken me this long to post...) a couple of my friends participated in JDRF's Type 1 for a day challenge. i didn't have to even bribe them! and one even was willing to write a post about it! how cool is that? i know, i know, i have the of best friends and you are jealous.

Aaron and i have been friends for close to 4 years now, met through school (CollegePlus) and greatly enjoy discussing many things, including diabetes, so it was really neat to hear his take on T1for a day. Without further delay...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What is it like to live with diabetes? That was the question before me. I had no idea but I was interested in finding out. Now, you may be wondering why I was even interested in diabetes. Might it be that I have diabetes?  No, I don't. The actual answer is rather simple. My dad has type 2 (T2), one of my grandmothers had T2, and I have friends with type 1 (T1). Add all that to the fact the chances of me getting T2 is pretty good considering family has had it why wouldn't I be curious? So when a good friend of mine with T1 mentioned there is an organization that was conducting a day long “experience” of learning what it's like to have T1 I went for it.

So what exactly was this program I was signing up for? It is called T1D for a Day and it is hosted by JDRF. Their website with the info is www.jdrf.org/index.cfm?page_id=117942 . Even from the website I wasn't exactly sure what I was getting into. What I got was a full 24 hour window of periodic text messages to my cell phone. My first text came around 7:30 a.m. and the last one was at 6:05 a.m. the next morning. There were messages every couple hours and even some at two in the morning (which I was not expecting). For all that I gleaned from the experience it was well worth the few extra minutes out of my day to read through some texts and consider what they messages said.

Like I said, I gleaned a bit of info from this. I woke up to some texts telling me what I would need to think about and do before I got out of bed. This included what I might do during the average day, what supplies I needed to take with me, and what I would need to keep in mind during my day. During the day my blood sugar levels got too high and then later went too low. I had to think on what I would have to do to counteract those physical issues. I soon found out that these highs and lows affected not just my physical energy but also my emotions and attitude. I could get depressed over not regulating my blood sugar or the nagging reminders to consistently check my blood glucose (BG) levels. I soon found out that all these times of checking my BG levels meant pricking my fingers. That would make my fingers feel sore. I also had to make insulin or glucose calculations for exercising, other activities and every meal I ate. As for that nasty two a.m. text, it was alerting me that I was sweaty and confused. Somehow my BG level was really low so I needed to take something to get it back to where it should be. That takes time and if I am confused and tired than I might need help from someone else to get me what I needed. If I didn't get the carbs into my system soon enough that could cause other complications. All this meant I had to stay awake awhile so I could check the levels again and see if I was getting back to where I needed to be. So after the rough night I still had to get up and be ready for work on time later that morning. Oh joy.

In the end I learned a lot. The biggest thing I learned is that, no matter how much I read or how much I sign up for programs like this one, I will never really know what it's like to live with T1 diabetes. I also learned that it's not as easy as just exercising and eating well. It is a part of life 24/7. It affects how a person might feel. It affects what they have the energy to do. It affects how others might see them. It affects what they choose to eat to a larger degree than I have ever really thought on. At the same time, everyone I have talked with who has T1 diabetes gets up everyday and face the same things the rest of us do. They appreciate what they have and make the best of what challenges come up.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
thanks for your thoughts, Aaron!

so there you have it. whatcha think? did any of your friends or family participate in this challenge? do you think this is helpful for others to know what a "day in the life" is like for us living with diabetes?
Posted by at

1 comment:

  1. Scott K. JohnsonFebruary 13, 2013 at 6:22 PM

    Thanks for the round up - really great to hear about it from someone outside of the typical diabetes circle.

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)