Admiring Our Differences

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It's that time of year again.  You may recall from 2010 that a phenomenon known as Diabetes Blog Week sweeped across this community, with dozens of bloggers giving their own spins on a single topic. We have a prompt for every day of the week, thanks to D-Blog Week creator Karen over at Bitter-Sweet Diabetes. You can find all those participants listed over there.


Today's Topic: Admiring our differences  -
We are all diabetes bloggers, but we come from many different perspectives. So, what have we learned from those diagnosed at different ages or with another type of diabetes, or those D-Parents who might be considered heroes? Pick a type of blogger who's looking at The D from a different perspective tell why they inspire you, why you admire them, or why it’s great that we are all the same but different.
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 I'd hoped for some originality here, but that just isn't how I'm gonna roll for this initial topic. Back in November, one of the most eye-opening experiences I've had came at the Children's Museum of Indianapolis when I was able to actually walk briefly in the shoes of a D-Parent - albeit it very briefly. That sparked this post, dubbed Penguins, Polar Bears, and Superheroes. That post is where I return to now for today's topic, and part of what I'd written then seems particularly relevant now to describe how and why I admire these D-Parents so much:

"What I faced was just a few brief moments of what these Parents of Children With Diabetes face every day, every night. every moment. Regardless of my own experiences growing up with and living as an adult with Type 1, that doesn't replace the simple reality that I don't know what it's like to be a caregiver to a child - especially a CWD. You think it requires ninja-skills to manage your own D-Life? Well, try being responsible for that from the outside, with the normal parental cares and concerns amplified by this chronic condition's necessities, and having to teach this little one how to grow up to have a successful life with diabetes. Not easy by any means. I'd known that before, but see it even more clearly now. These Parents Acting Like Pancreases are superheroes. We could recognize them every moment of every day, and they'd still be under-appreciated. So, to every Parent Who Acts Like A Pancreas: Thank you, so incredibly much. For everything. We Children With Diabetes Who Grew Up are who are because of your care, your guidance, your balancing those daily issues in whatever way you did."


I promise to be original for Tuesday's topic, which will be: Diabetes Letter to... (Catch you tomorrow, when you'll see who that letter goes to!)

Comments

Alexis Nicole said…
Repost or not it touched me. Thank you for your beautiful words and constant support!
Unknown said…
Touched my heart the first time...and then again :)

Thanks...

GOOD GAME!
Thank you Michael, for you continued support through your words, your actions, from just being you.
Unknown said…
Wow...

AND...right back at ya...I am grateful for the PWDs. Your experiences and willingness to share them enable me a greater knowledge base in which to parent-pancreate Joe from.

I appreciate it.
George said…
I am constantly amazed at d-parents. They are awesome.

Thanks for the tears. ;)
Meri said…
Your post was wonderful! My post is about YOU!
Steve said…
Thanks for your support Michael! Love all that we learn from our DOC CWDWGU crowd.
Holly said…
Aww..thank you! I never think about the other side-when they grow UP. It seems so far away.
Wonderful post, thank you! : ) Holly
Trev said…
Thanks for support, nice post!
Michelle said…
Thanks for your comment earlier, Michael! So glad it brought me over here to read this post. Beautifully written...truly touched my heart! I'm so grateful to be able to read about D from your perspective! Looking forward to your future posts :)
Joanne said…
Love this post and thank you for your comment.

And thank you for sharing your life with the rest of us, so we can all learn.
Amy Lederer said…
I missed this post the first time around. But it resonated well with me today. Through glassy eyes, thank you.
Bridget said…
Thank you very much. Very sweet and touching.
Renata said…
I find it truly amazing how we D-parents learn so much from all of you T1's and that now all of you have an understanding of what your own parents went through. (and just to be clear, they probably still worry just as much!!)

Gotta love the DOC!
Anonymous said…
Great post! It sounds like a lot of us are in agreement - D-Parents rock!
Lora said…
I called myself a blubbering baby the last time I read that... some things don't change.

Thanks for sharing again :)
Cherise said…
PoCWD's rock! I have nothing but love for them.
I'm crying!! And I read this post Back in November! So see? Doesn't matter. Still awesome! Thanks, Mike! We look up to you, too. I hope Sweets grows up to be the strong, successful PWD that you all are! Thanks for being such a great example and giving us a little peek into the future.
Bob Pedersen said…
I think it's cool how many of the adult T1s are choosing to write about the d-parents, and vice versa. Very neat!
LaLa said…
Yep - I'm crying too! It was a new post to me as I'm a fairly new 'lurker'. Thank you for the support - it means more than you will ever know!!!!
Jen said…
Nothing wrong with a repost. Besides, it was beautifully written. Looking forward to reading your posts for the rest of the week!
EDONAdesigns said…
I've always told my parents that I don't know how they handled two kids (5 and 2) with Type 1. Your post is fantastic! Being a parent is a full-time job and to then take on the task of being the pancreas... I know that I couldn't do it.

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