artlicker
Is there really any point in telling old classmates and acquaintances who friend me on Facebook about Charlie's diabetes? "Friends" that I haven't spoken to in over 15 years and won't again for another 20?
Holy crap! Stacey Winter! Been a long time. Five kids! Wow, congrats! So cute! My son has diabetes. How are you?
No, that's no good.
John Haust! No way! How crazy is Facebook? I see you still have a mullet. Nice! Did you hear about Stacey Winter? Seven kids! Insane! My 7-year-old son's pancreas is broken so we need to prick him with needles all day and count his Cheerios. How are you?
Neh, don't like it. Maybe if I got right to the point …
Jenny Potenza! My locker buddy! Your kids are adorable. Can you believe Stacey Winter has nine kids??? She should be on a reality show. My son has a lower life expectancy than most of his peers. What's new with you?
To be honest, Facebook has lost its luster for me these days and I rarely go on, but one thing definitely struck me while looking at people's profiles and photos. Old friends move on from high school, disappear from your life and along their way they discover something to become passionate about. They find their "thing." I don't mean just a hobby, but rather something that becomes a way of life. Maybe their thing has become running marathons or fighting animal cruelty or ballroom dancing. One "friend" of mine is into Arctic expeditions. I never would have expected that from him, but that's his thing, apparently.
Sure, I have hobbies, but diabetes is most certainly mine. Take this blog for instance. Never in my life have I written anything with such regularity. When I'm not writing about diabetes I'm thinking about writing about diabetes. I'm thinking about Charlie. I'm thinking of A1cs and clinical trials. I'm thinking of blood sugars and carbohydrates. Soon fundraising for JDRF's Walk to Cure Diabetes will be in full swing and I'll start thinking about this year's t-shirt design for our team, Charlie's Angels. The annual JDRF meeting is also soon. Ooh, I need to order more insulin and infusion sets. It's all about diabetes.
It's my way of life.
My weight of life.
My thing.
I don't want it to be my thing.
I'd trade it for ballroom dancing in a New York minute.
