Diabetes Blog Week 2014: Monday

i recently returned from a trip to the mountains with my lovedove, jesse.
we spent nearly two weeks in an isolated cabin.
no internet. no cell service. 30 minute drive to the nearest town. nada. nothing. trees, trees, a creek and more trees.

i loved our time together. i learned things about our partnership and how we tend to co-habitate when there is really nothing to do. i’m not sure if we made an unspoken pact or not but neither he, nor i, spoke of my diabetes much during our stay. this is very very weird for me. i usually gab on and on about diabetes and what kind of tricks it pulled on me that day.

backstory: i went off my pump after this happened a couple of weeks ago. i needed a break. that break extended into cabin time and resulted in the absence of beeps.

it was like i’d never heard a silence so brilliant. everything still. i didn’t know how truly stunning an absence of the beeps could be.

i noticed it on the second day in cabin time and felt a terribly strong urge to write and tweet and fb about how, through the absence, i thought up a great new name for when wacky bg’s are sticking around: the beeps.

post backstory: maybe someone has already shared that term! i wanted to find them! I wanted to share and rejoice on how this silence has renewed my desires to have a pump but NOT hear many beeps.

i wanted to talk about the beeps with those who understand or even just someone who understands.

yes. jesse has been with me (& diabetes) for nearly six years. he has seen the presence it has in my life and what i allow it to dictate. he has seen the times when i tell diabetes no, but it goes ahead and does it anyway. he gets it

but as you may have heard or seen or felt, talking small d-intricacies with people without diabetes often leads to the PWD feeling rather misunderstood.

what i am trying to say is…

i need you people.
i need you #DOC maker-upers to share with, to learn from, to stand with when phasers are set to stun on advocacy issues, to bench press the tough shit like it aint no thang (i shouldn’t have thrown that one in).
i need the outlet and the support and the funnies that you create and maintain.

you help me laugh about that which can feel unbearable and unrelenting.
you show me courage
togetherness.
tenderness.
and love.

YOU fuel me.

i advocate formally for our continued connection.

i’m getting all mushy gushy so i am going to connect this now and make a plug.

am i allowed to make a plug?
i am going to anyway.

it just so happens that the diabetes cause and issue that fuels my steamboat (only YOU aren’t burnable) has been addressed in a new way very recently, thanks to Christel at thePerfectD Blog (yes that was capitalized, and for good reason).

The Diabetes UnConference.

i’m just going to repeat that a few times.

The Diabetes UnConference.

The Diabetes UnConference.

The Diabetes UnConference.

The Diabetes UnConference.

i love talking with and meeting friends with diabetes on the net. for me, it’s a non-threatening environment that is shaped by the people who want [something unfound] from it. the #DOC is a collective. we decide what fuels us, what moves us, what shakes us, what shapes us and what changes us. we choose what and how often. we pick where and where not. we.

The Diabetes UnConference brings the online freedom to real life gatherings. we decide when we get there. we share what we want when we want. we contribute our gifts and bask in others’. it’s unlike anything else.

there are diabetes conferences for families, for women, for educators, for scientists, for health centers, and even for techies. each of these conferences are different (all magnificent) works of art. a single person may see the beauty in each of them, but may not identify with them all.

The Diabetes UnConference is a conference… for adults with diabetes.

it is a place to talk about the beeps and how the absence of speaks to a need you didn’t know you had.

it is a place to wear diabetes completely on the outside because, refreshingly, keeping it simple doesn’t benefit anyone around you.

it is a chance to speak the diabetes language without pausing to explain the basics.

it is the #DOC in person.

it is magic.

The Diabetes UnConference: REGISTER HERE
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todays diabetes blog week prompt:
Change the World – Monday 5/12
Let’s kick off Diabetes Blog Week by talking about the diabetes causes and issues that really get us fired up. Are you passionate about 504 plans and school safety? Do diabetes misconceptions irk you? Do you fight for CGM coverage for Medicare patients, SDP funding, or test strip accuracy? Do you work hard at creating diabetes connections and bringing support? Whether or not you “formally” advocate for any cause, share the issues that are important to you. (Thanks go out to Kim of Texting my Pancreas for inspiring this topic.)