Yesterday I attended a lunch meeting with a company that we are looking at to update our current company's website. When I arrived at the office I checked my BG before I left the car. 135. I was going to correct for it but since it was 11:30 I figured I would wait until we ordered food and take care of it all at the same time.

When I got to the office and met with the web designer we quickly sat down and began discussing our needs. It was a really good meeting and I liked what he suggested as far as some ways to drive more business our way but I started to notice a very foreign feeling in my stomach. (READ MORE)

Early fall wind blew threw the house as No. 1 and I sat at the dining room table. He was doing homework and I was keeping him company while going through the mail. The girls were alternatingly reading to each other and turning the TV up so blaringly loud that even No. 1 started to scold them like a parent.

Between writing spelling words and their definitions, No. 1 said, "Dinner smells good, Mom."

"Yeah, it really does," I said, thinking I should check the timer on the chicken I had baking in the oven.

It was a Wednesday evening and the fourth day in a row that I had made dinner instead of saying I was too hot, too tired, too annoyed or too lazy to do so and taking the family out for dinner. It had recently occurred to me that we didn't eat out nearly as often when No. 1 and No. 2 were toddlers as we seem to now that No. 3 is a toddler. I hated realizing that. (READ MORE)

Saturday was one of those random days for my diabetes. I have been thinking about it and I have come up with a few ideas about why my sugars were off. For one thing, it's the weekend and I ALWAYS seem to have difficulty keeping things on track. I am sure that all of you out there can relate to this. Saturday and Sunday come around and sleeping patterns go out the window! All throughout the work week, I get up about the same time each morning; eat the same size breakfast and then go through my typical work day. Well, then the weekend gets here, and I am eating at completely different times and having irregular meals. And when it comes to physical activity on the weekend, I am either extremely lazy or working exceedingly hard. (READ MORE)

Ben lowered his head and was right on my heels in the dark as we took cover behind a neon-outlined wall near the yellow base. He looked terrified.  I peered around the corner and pointed directions to him with two fingers like they do in combat films. "Stay down," I mouthed. "I'm going out there."

 A 6-year-old girl was approaching slowly - crouching low and walking sideways with her gun raised steady above her shoulders. She was using "alpha, bravo, Charlie" phonetics and switching from English to French and this frightened me.  She was trouble.

In the near pitch-black labyrinth that is laser tag, I had no clue of Charlie's whereabouts. I didn't think of it at the time, but a severe hypoglycemic event would be very bad in this setting; especially it being his birthday party.

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Thursday, my college youth group is having a Fourth of July picnic. I'm half excited, but half wary of all things food related. The diabetic in me is curious, anxious, and completely nervous about what will be served, how it was prepared, and so on. The diabetic in me is wanting to be a total control freak...but unfortunately, this isn't a situation where I can be. This situation calls for a little gambling and adventure-taking.

Ever since I started venturing out on my own, I've struggled with food. I want healthy choices. I want choices that won't send my blood sugar through the roof. And mostly, I want choices that I will actually eat (as I'm a fairly picky eater). All those things combined leaves me feeling like I have to make the restaurant choice or at least give plenty of acceptable options...while trying to make everyone happy in what they're putting in their own mouths.

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One thing I've learned both living with diabetes (and hypertension and everything else) and having family members with diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and other health issues is that no matter how far away you are, and whether that be in miles or in outlooks, the chronic illness of one is shared by the entire family. Here, many hands do not make "light work" -- that right goes to the bonds of love and familial obligation. While a large support network might ease the afflicted person's ability to live a full life, it means that a much larger number of people need to consider the needs of that person, that many more perceive an increase in their own risk for developing that malady, and that many more must learn to accommodate a family member's needs within their own lives.

To start with, it's hard to address diabetes without addressing diet. After all, they both start with the diphthong // dai //

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