The other night I sat down at our newsed kitchen table, exhausted from moving into a new house and ready to eat dinner. I hit "ESC" on Toohey to see how much insulin I had left since I knew I was getting to the bottom of my reservoir. As I scrolled down, I saw "Meter:...8:18 a.m." I continued going, somehow thinking I would see the rest of the day's meter readings (that's how tired I was at that point). But I was actually really shocked to realize that 8 a.m. was the only time that day I had checked my sugar. I was really surprised at myself. Sitting there I thought back over the last couple days and realized that the once-a-day-testing was becoming a trend.

But that's what happens when life gets in the way of diabetes management. Packing an entire house and then unpacking a new one leaves more than cramps in your legs. It's the grab-and-go mentality that gets you through. Putting tupperware away in the right cabinet, but not arranging it nicely just so I can get it out of the darn box and get the box in the recycle bin is sort of the way I've handled diabetes over the last week: check a fasting sugar so I know where I am, eat nearly every meal quickly while standing up or sitting on the floor over an old beach towel and forgetting to check my sugar until I'm half-way through the meal because my mind is two steps ahead of my body is where I've been since July 2.

It's a very odd feeling to realize that I haven't even been going through the motions. Well, I suppose I've been going through some of the motions. It's one thing to muddle through checking your sugar before and after each meal because you know you have to so you can administer the right amount of insulin. It's another issue entirely to forget to check your sugar or to forget to give yourself insulin, or to get in the habit of bypassing the "Enter BG" function on your pump or to arbitrarily give yourself 2, 3 or 6 units of insulin prior to each meal or snack.

Life is more settled now. Driving to work this morning I made a goal for myself for the rest of the week: test before and after each meal. It's like stepping back in time, but sometimes you have to take a step back in order to get back in the habit of doing something vital.