vancity197 @stock.xchng

I feel like such a mean dad.

I am the father of two very awesome kids. My son is 14 and my daughter is 10. They are both very smart and well mannered kids. My wife and I are extremely blessed in that they are both good kids. We thank God all the time for them.

I am usually considered the "cool dad" with my kid and their friends and as much as I am "cool" I am also pretty strict. I have definite rules with my kids and as long as they do not break them then they have lots of freedoms. Break a rule and freedoms are gone.

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I think I am losing my mind.

Back when I was in High School I never thought about diabetes or the fact that I could get it. I never thought that a disease would sneak into my life and change it forever. It was just not on my radar and not on my parents radar either. They were just as shocked as I was when I was diagnosed.

So now I am the parent and since I have diabetes, it I think about all the time. I hope some parents with diabetes can tell me how you deal with this but I think I am a little paranoid about my children getting diabetes.

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Angela

I spent the last two days planning the next 12 years of my life. I've decided to reconsider becoming a doctor, so I had to change every minute detail of the "map" of what I expected life to be like in the next years.

I am positive that if I do become a doctor, I'm going to become an endocrinologist specializing in diabetes management in children. This would entail finishing my current degree, going on to medical school, a residency and finally a fellowship. This means the next 6 years of my life would be strictly school work. The 6 after that would be training in my field.

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Marc Turnley

Since I'm right in the middle of my "dating prime," dating is on my mind. Of course, there is the typical stuff about meeting new guys and just trying to be myself while catching their attention. Then there is the serious side of me that wonders about the long term situations and all that entails. To top it off (like a cherry on a sundae), there is dating and diabetes.

I'm usually okay with dating and diabetes. I don't hide it, but I don't flaunt it. I always take a survey of the situation before throwing diabetes into the mix. I don't really have a problem telling dates about my diabetes. It's something that is completely a part of me and therefore, something they must completely accept. (READ MORE)

My Hourglass [Cloud]

Sometimes diabetes makes me feel so alone. I've always been the "token" diabetic in my family. And after almost fifteen years of being the only one, I'm adjusted to the idea. I'm good at doing this "alone." I actually like it. I know that no one I love deals with it. I never have anyone to blame. Plus it makes me unique.

In October of last year... that all changed. My dad was diagnosed with type 1. I've never worried about my parents getting it, only my future children. Yet here we are: my father has my disease. It feels horrible, a true blow to the gut. (READ MORE)

Diabetes shows up in the most awful places. Take yesterday for example.

A little background first. Saturday night I was two hours away from home with my kids celebrating Hanukkah with old family friends. The Mr. was on call, so he stayed home. As we were preparing to leave and head to my parents' condo, No. 3 fell down a flight of stairs. No one saw her go, but No. 2 saw her at the bottom of the stairs. Actually, No. 2 saw No. 3's light-up shoes at the bottom of the stairs. This was a full flight of 10 to 12 stairs from a first floor to a basement. (READ MORE)