A Spanish radio station strums over the radio airwaves at the solid REM hour of 3:00 am. It is the start of another early morning shift at work. It is also the beginning of the diabetes routine for the day. Before I started this job, and the subsequent early rising mornings, my body was accustomed to an eight 'o clock Lantus injection and ensuing activity. Now on the scheduled work days of the week things have to go by a different pace.

Three in the morning is too early for my Lantus injection I decided, which means one thing; time to break out the toothbrush travel case. No, I'm not worried about errant plaque during my day away from home, it just so happens that this case holds syringes quite nicely. I draw the insulin and neatly stow the filled syringe into the toothbrush case for later use.

An issue arises when I am hungry in the morning before work. If I eat without taking my "background insulin", Lantus, I am prone to sky-rocketed blood sugars. So it turns into a waiting game. I wait for a few morning hours to pass until my half-hour break. Now I can set things hormonally straight in my body. In goes the stowed dose of Lantus and down goes a quick breakfast, all followed by my "rapid-acting" insulin to quickly cover those carbs.

It fell on deaf ears if anyone ever said that diabetes wasn't a time consuming hobby. Daily, I feel like I'm back in the Boy Scouts preparing for a multi-day trek into the forest. I have my mental checklist of all the tools I will need that day to keep me in tune and feeling healthy. Waking a few minutes early to pack all the essentials, and then losing minutes of break time each day to put them to good use.

Yes, diabetes has become a labor of love, self-love. I go through the small steps everyday to keep focus of the big picture, of keeping myself prepared, and staying healthy at all turns of the day.