Our Christmas D-Spirit

Once again, tis' the season.

Our Christmas Tree materialized this year just after Thanksgiving, a tad bit earlier than years' past. We also moved it to another spot in the house, to change things up for 2011. But most of the Hoskins Family Christmas Tree remains unchanged.

Our Diabetic Spirit is also singing strong again as D-Supplies have also made their entrance for the third year in a row. More spirited than last year's D-Tree, and some of the regular fixtures have returned.

I've wondered some about whether it's "weird" to have diabetes device and management supplies adorning our holiday tree. But you know, my thought is that a Christmas tree is supposed to include ornaments that reflect important moments and aspects of one's life. Pictures of family, kids, friends. Items that mean something to you.  And so, I think diabetes fits into that - these things keep me alive, after all. So yes, they do have a place on our Christmas Tree.

• Pump tubing tinsel, hanging again without worry of being yanked loose by a jumping dog or sneaky aggressive doorknob. Plus a Glucose Tablet on a pump tube string. And a nearby emtpy One Touch Ultra Blood Test Strip Vial being recycled for D-Tree use!
• We have the controversial Sugar-Free Chocolate M&M from years' past. Yes, it is sugar-free despite claims to the contrary. Two other ornamenty versions of the bite-sized candies dangle nearby, fully capable of claiming the sugar-saturated status unlike their sugarless neighbor. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
• Reservoir and infusion set combo. They're always connected to me, so by extension they have a place on the D-Tree. Nuff said.
• Old insurance cards on pump tubing string. I keep all my expired insurance cards, and am now making use of them creatively.
• A Green Pickle. Pickles are yummy treats for many in the Diabetes Community, but this ornament actually stems from an inside-joke between a group of friends. We all went camping one summer years ago and rented a pontoon boat that was green, and thus we named it the Green Pickle. Tree ornaments for everyone ensued, and still decorate our tree.
• Mug O Beer. I do love my beer. No Christmas is complete without it. Cheers!

We also have added a few others that were gifts last year.

• Glass Globe Filled With Test Strips, a gift from my mom last year. Thanks mom! This is awesome and a great new addition to our tree!

• Riley & Shadow Ornaments, also ornaments that were gifts from my crafty mom (anyone else sensing a theme, here?!)

We have many other ornaments, but these are some fun central ones highlighted for this post.

Now, this D-Tree may not be a Little Charlie Brown Christmas Tree. And our pets may not be the real Garfield or Odie But hey, it's the Hoskins Family, with all the trimmings to compliment our lives and Hoosier Household. We proudly mark the season in our own ways, and love doing it.

Aside from the tree, we also spent some time recently creating and decorating a gingerbread house, courtesy of a store-bought kit containing directions and all the pieces. Not the same as the homemade ones we'd made years ago, but still a lot of fun! (By the way, total carb count listed on the box = 936g. Plus a couple in-house extras, I'd guess it's somewhere around 1100g of yumminess!!)

So, we're very excited about the holiday being here and being able to see and spend time with family and friends. All D-Life aspects aside, it's a time to remember what we have and how lucky we are in life, even when times are difficult and there doesn't seem like much reason to celebrate.

With that, I say to everyone: Merry Christmas 2011!