[This post follows "A Day At the Races (I) — Before the Event", where I discussed some of the work that goes into setting up a fundraising walk, run, or ride.]

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Most of us who have been around the diabetes community, or any running, cycling, or charity-event community, have had the opportunity to participate in a large event — either as a participant or as a volunteer. Most volunteers come in the day of the event, check in participants or hand out food or beverages for a few hours, and go home. Participants sign up, solicit donations (if it's a charity event), show up, burn some calories, maybe eat some food, and go home. Very few of us get to see how much work, and how many people, it takes to put on an event. If you've ever wondered why the fundraising bar for charity cycling rides is set at $200, $500, $3000, or more... this is why.

Let's start at the beginning. Most of the real work of an event starts months before the day of the race, ride, or walk.

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A box within a box within a box within a box.

Sometimes, that's the best description of my, your, or anyone else's diabetes.

The big box is Diabetes itself.

The next box is the "Type" box. Usually only two of them fit into the large case, but some folk will cram in two or more smaller boxes ("Gestational", "LADA", "MODY", and others) as well.

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While diabetes may affect the way we celebrate our holidays, those holidays should never be about diabetes. Holidays are about family, about G-d, about freedom, about love... not about chronic diseases and disease management.

That being said, I sometimes find the holidays give me greater insight into my diabetes, and ways to deal with it. While changes in diet (rarely good for my numbers!) are certainly a component of most of my religious and family holiday celebrations, when I am "properly introspective" -- that is to say, doing the sort of "soul searching" that one is supposed to do when approaching these holidays -- I find many ways to put myself "at peace" with this condition, and to turn it from a negative into a positive. I believe some Christians refer to this as "giving it up to G-d (or Jesus)"...

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