"Hold your pump," the tall twenty-something dude with multiple piercings in both ears said prosaically to Charlie as he helped him out of his rock-climbing harness.

Lurking nearby, I was amazed by a couple things. First - how did the guy working the rock-climbing birthday party know it was a pump? Second – how is it that he had no reaction to it other than to move it out of the way? Like it was just another appendage getting tangled in rope and buckles.

When he walked away, I asked Charlie, "Did you tell him it was a pump?"

"No."

We often talk about the overall misunderstanding of the disease by the general public and the technologies we rely upon. Pumps often get mistaken for beepers, mp3 players, cell phones and even garage door openers. But this little encounter made me wonder if insulin pumps and people with diabetes for that matter are becoming omnipresent. Maybe Charlie was yet another little kid climbing walls with diabetes; with a pump. Maybe they're a dime a dozen. It's a sad thought.

Soon everyone will know what an insulin pump is.

When that time comes, we might all long to have some of the mystery back.

It was difficult passing on the pizza this time, but we really had to. Charlie was still going through whatever the hell it was that kept him very high for a week and a half. Pizza was the last thing we needed. I was impressed though at how mature he was about skipping the pizza.

While testing his blood sugar, I caught a little conversation between Charlie and a friend.

"Can you eat cheese?" the kid with tomato sauce around his lips asked.

"Of course," Charlie said.

"Can you eat GRILLED cheese?" the kid countered.

"Of course," Charlie said again.

Charlie and the kid with the red, crusty face agreed that grilled cheese sandwiches are delicious.

When a chocolate cupcake was put in front of him, Charlie looked over at me and I gave him the OK. He dove in head first.

Driving home I told Charlie how proud I was of him.

"But I didn't go high," he said.

I paused for a minute, perplexed. Why would I want him to be high?

"On the rock wall. I didn't go high," he clarified.

Oh, but he did.

But his numbers are looking much better so far this week.