People are fascinating.  As they say, every person is so much likened to a snow flake as just as it should be, no 2 are alike.  That is a great thing. 

Do you ever think about communities that you belong to & the personality styles of the members?  It is pretty awesome having the opportunity for each of us to enjoy common interests or viewpoints with some folks & have other folks in the group expand our minds with their perspectives.

In one form or another, I have continued to learn & appreciate the uniqueness of personality & human behavior.  Although I have studied a myriad of behavioural models, my favourite is by Dr. Robert Rohm.  It is a simple, almost intuitive model to learn & it is delivered with pizzazz & humour.  Essentially, Dr. Rohm describes four primary personality styles.  Each person in his model has a primary personality style & a secondary one.  Some folks have more than 2 styles as well. 

The four personality styles described by Dr. Rohm include:  dominant/outgoing, intuitive & fun seeking, sparkly/outgoing, sensitive, sentimental, sweet/quieter, and logical,concise, orderly/quieter to paraphrase his many works.  Incidentially, if you are a parent, the book, “Different Children, Different Needs” by Dr. Rohm & Dr. Boyd is dynamite! 

Now all this talk about personality styles is not meant to provide an arena for labeling folks.  The purpose of having an outline of personality styles is to then take that knowledge & go out of your way to authentically meet others at their needs.  In order to meets folks at their needs, a person needs at least a basic understanding of what is important to others.

Please take a moment or two & think about what your primary & secondary personality styles are.  Then think next about the folks who are closest to you in terms of their style.  Finally, give some thought about the folks & their styles within other circles that you belong to (work, social, family, friends, etc).  It will not take long to see that we have a rainbow of personalities to appreciate within our community circles & that is a great thing.

My Dad’s dearest friend was our local fire chef, Dave.  Dave loved to make others laugh & feel special.  He let you know that he was “present” with each & every one.  He stood up for what was right & was a gentleman of character.  Dave’s motto in action within the fire department was, “I will go first”.  Every fire that the firefighters went to…well, Fire Chef Dave was into that burning building first.  Everyone in our town will forever respect & love Fire Chef, Dave.  In the spirit of “going first”, I will share that my primary personality style is sentimental, sensitive,creative & people oriented (vs task).  I do not read instructions (which sometimes gets me into funny situations & trouble alike) but rather rely on my intuition to figure stuff like electronics out.  My secondary style is that I love to have fun & laugh, have adventures & love life.  My husband has the other 2 personality styles:  he is a natural leader & gets things done & is extremely logical, concise & orderly.  You can imagine, that he is the guy who pulls the instructions out & reads them from cover to cover.  Thank goodness for that in our household because if I try to put anything together I have “leftover pieces” that were supposed to be a part of the project.  Too funny!

Our sons each have their very own styles.  Matt is creative, humourous, outgoing, spiritual and kind . Brian is logical, loves science & math & asks a bizzion questions. As an aside, here is a snapshot into Brian’s logical side.  When Brian was 5 years old, I was playing one of my many “imagination games” with him.  I said to him, I am picturing you right now flying a plane.  Brian’s hilarious response was, “no, Mom, I am not a pilot because I do not have my plane license & anyhow, I don’t even know how to get to the airport!”  Another time when Brian was 5 & Alex almost 3, Brian took it upon himself to try to teach Alex about spheres.  First, he tried drawing the shape on a piece of paper.  Very quickly, Brian told Alex that a sphere should not be drawn on a flat piece of paper.  Brian explained to Alex that they should go & get Alex’s baseball & then he could see for himself what a sphere was all about.  So funny!  Alex is “Mr. Happy” with a gentle, kind disposition & loves to snuggle & help with absolutely everything. 

The personality style that is least like our own can sometimes be the most challenging at first.  It is only challenging though as long as we do not understand the style.  Once we have an understanding of what is important or valued by other individuals, then we can try our best to meet them at their needs & vice versa.

Okay, so Saundie, what does any of this “personality stuff” have to do with diabetes or 365 health challenges?  Great question!  When we each choose the battle buddies (support team), we may want to consider including the full rainbow of personality styles.  It is easy as they say to include folks in our lives or on our team that are like-minded or similar in personality style to our own.  That is a great start.  How about also including the folks as well with the other personality styles?  Some folks may tend to be quieter & reserved yet isn’t it a blast to have a friend that is outgoing & gets others out when they otherwise would not go out to various events.  On the other hand, the folks that are great listeners can help those of us out who are having a conflict & be very comforting & supportive.  Now how about those individuals who are task-oriented & set goals & make great team captains & get things done.  Finally, the logical, task-oriented folks help immensely in offering great quality answers.

It is my heart’s devotion to always be “team building”.  That means to me that I need & want all the personality styles on my battle buddy team.  The folks that I learn the most from are folks that have a very different personality style from mine & that is a great thing.  The cool thing that I have learned along the way is that it is best to see the situation from the other person’s perspective & with understanding.  I learned many, many years ago that if a task-oriented person asks me a question that they are not too likely interested in hearing a sentimental, sit on the fence or long-winded answer.  A concise, quality answer delivered with little fanfare seems to be preferred…at least this is what I have found with interactions with my closest battle buddy.  My battle buddy in turn though also knows that it will not meet me at my needs if I receive an abrupt response.  That is the beauty of understanding one another & then doing something “with” that information.  The something “with” is doing our best to meet one another at our individual needs.

When you are adding another team mate to your team of battle buddies, my heart’s hope is that the rainbow of personality styles will be of benefit to you.  A team is always something worth building & so too is understanding.

Smiles, Saundie

Do you have a favourite movie?  That would probably be the one that you watch many times & keep in safe keeping for those “just right” moments of recreation.

My husband, Greg has 3 beloved movies: “ The Hunt For Red October”, “Blackhawk Down “ & “Apollo 13”.   The covers on the DVDs show the wear of many viewings of each movie for sure.  My movie tastes are pretty eclectic & most are not ones that the fellas in our home enjoy & that’s okay.  Greg loves it when I share time with him watching one of his 3 favorite films.  The most appealing, I find is “Apollo 13.”  You know that I am a happy ending enthusiast & that film delivers big time.  Even after watching it over the years probably a dozen times, I still find tears rolling down my face (happy ones) when the crew of the flight return home to their loved ones.  Greg has loved introducing each of our sons to Apollo 13 over the years as well.  I love watching the boys & their dad light up as they share time together in this or any activity.  That’s the sentimental heart that I was given.

There is a line in “Apollo 13” that describes an incident that occurred one evening during the Christmas holidays.  Yes, it is, “Houston, we have a problem.”  You know that feeling too I am sure.  It is the time when you have planned ahead & all looks good only to realize later that a “system” has failed unexpectedly.  This is just one of those realities it seems for everyone from time to time.  For folks who have diabetes or another 365 health challenge, that sure is true. 

It was an absolute joy sharing 2 weeks off with our sons & a good portion of that as well with my “mathlete”.  Usual routine was cast aside realistically in favour of having adventures & fun together.  The trouble is though as we all know, health challenges do not ever take a holiday.   As cures are found for health challenges, it is a beautiful hope to envision all of us having a permanent “holiday” from the 365 struggle. 

It is likely accurate to imagine that a great many folks with type 1 diabetes struggled with glucose control over the holidays.  I found that the holidays are the perfect “storm” of:  unusual sleeping patterns, different eating habits, increased stress, decrease in exercise & many other factors.  This combination meant that I found my glucose meter telling me the story of the holidays in the form of numbers.  Aha, so there were the 3’s (low sugars) in the night & then the 15’s during the day (high sugars) day after day for 2 weeks.  When my blood sugars roller coaster from low to high & back down again & so forth that I feel unwell physically & emotionally.  Still, though the thought of attempting to maintain a semblance of routine during the holidays was unappealing I decided this year.  

Near the very end of our family holidays, as Tom Hanks said in the movie, “Houston, we have a problem” happened.  When you wear an insulin pump, there are times when something can go wrong.  My experience is that over 99% of the time, my pump & infusion sites are awesome & do their jobs.  That is not to say that my A1C (you know that final exams feeling that we have every 3-6 months) is where I want it to be.  That is a work in progress.  My pump & infusion were working well until just before dinner time.  How do I know that?  Well, let me confess that I am a meter test-a-holic.  Each person with diabetes has a number of glucose tests that they find comfortable to do each day.  (not physically comfortable but rather the number that gives peace of mind).  The number each day for me is between 10-12.  I always test before meals, 2 hours after, before bed, every time before I drive, after exercise, when I feel “weird” (which could be signs of a low), 20 minutes after a low, 2 hours after an insulin correction & on & on.  The number of tests is high I know yet it is “my number”…the peace of mind number that works for me.  Again, other folks will have worked out their testing numbers along with their medical team.  What works for me does not necessarily make sense for someone else & vice versa.

Before dinner, my glucose number was 7 which was okay for me at that time of the day.  I cooked up a celebratory dinner for our family which was higher than usual in carbs.  I bolused 5 units of insulin to account for the dinner.  Two hours later, I checked to see where my glucose was at.  Yikes, it was about 4 higher than I wanted it to be so I did a correction insulin adjustment & re-tested 2 hours later.  Yikes, even after the correction, my sugars were shooting up.  What is the “panic” number for me in terms of what is registering on my glucose meter…well generally around 17 or more.  Well, 4 hours after dinner, my meter may as well have been screaming at me with the number of 20.1!  That’s when a “cool-headed” battle buddy is appreciated even more than ever.  My blood sugars started shooting up somewhere before 8pm & by 8:30pm, my “mathlete” husband was doing calculations to help me to try to bring the glucose number back down.  The other thing that happened at about 8pm right after I tested was that I checked my infusion site.  Something that I have not had happen over the past 4 years of “pumping” happened.  My tubing had somehow become disconnected from my body yet the infusion was still “snug as a bug in a rug.”  Aha, that now made sense.  That meant that I had not received the 5 units I needed with my dinner as well as any “background”(basal) insulin.  Greg figured out the total missed insulin & gave me the information to make my own decision on corrections.  I was conservative in my corrections since I did not want to go into hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) while sleeping.  Long story made longer…my battle buddy & I ended up staying up until 4am correcting the situation. 

Here’s the neat part of the story.  How do you turn a “Houston, we have a problem” situation into a happy ending for yourself.  At 10pm, my husband said to me that he thought it would be the perfect night to watch, “Storm of the Century”.  That movie is something like 4 or more hours long.  It was a great idea because that way, Greg & I were not simply sitting up fretting about glucose control but rather enjoying a movie together & the corrections could take their time in settling in.  By 4am, yay, my blood sugar was 7 & I was super happy albeit pretty wiped out.  My husband is a “night hawk” so he found it easier to keep his eyes open into the wee hours of the morning.  I am always grateful that my husband’s personality style is very different from mine.  He is like Gene Krantz in the movie with a calm style & is a natural leader…the type of person that you want to follow & that you listen to instantly in a panic situation.

My hope for you is that you have a team of battle buddies with the rainbow of personality styles.  When or if you find yourself in a “Houston, we have a problem” situation, my heart’s hope is that you have a “go to” person on your team that you can call upon too.

Smiles, Saundie

Just over 6 years ago, our family moved into our “fixer upper” home.  My husband & I saw the potential in the home although it needed some TLC.  It was a neat feeling looking beyond the roof that desperately needed to be replaced, the bathrooms that needed well…you name it & seeing that this is “home”.  With hard work, we could see that our older, new home could be “just right” for our family of 5 (well 6 once our furry family member arrived). 

Our oldest son, Matt was 6 years old when we moved into our home in need of TLC, Brian was 2 & I was pregnant with wee Alex.  Looking back, it is difficult to believe that my husband & I did so much work within our new home at break neck speed because Alex was going to be born within months.  We worked together & got things done on our “to do” list.  When I think of it now, the work we did needed to be done until we did not have to do it anymore.  That is common in life.  It is a little like when you have a new baby in the house, sleep decreases & you keep functioning & doing what needs to be done until the baby in later months starts to sleep.  At that point, you don’t have to go on adrenaline anymore.

I look at diabetes the same way.  Each day, I go about the care that diabetes demands like glucose tests throughout the day, bolus & basal calculations, carb calculations, exercise calculations, stress management calculations, correction calculations & on & on.  Most of the time, it is as natural as putting my socks on.  There are times when I am talking away or listening to someone else & bolusing on my insulin pump at the same time because the math calculation for the snack we are sharing is second nature.  You know what, like other folks with type 1 diabetes, I will continue to do what I have to do until I don’t have to anymore.  Once the cure comes, we will all be able to look back & say, hey, the TLC that we gave ourselves while treating diabetes was a lot of work but we did it & now we don’t have to do that anymore.

That’s the part that I love to think forward about…dream about.  Between now & when the cure is here, we don’t want to let go of dreams & we would not dream of letting go of hope.  When I envision the future without diabetes, I picture my family being more carefree & not thinking or talking about diabetes anymore.  It is pretty carefree this picture in my mind.  I find that there are parts of child-likeness that I take with me on life’s journey no matter how many birthdays that I have.  One of the endearing attributes that children have is that they dream & believe that anything is possible.  They get excited & dream huge with no lid on the “hugeness” of possibilities.

When we moved to our home, Matt was 6 as I mentioned before.  He is a cool guy & there are so many things about him that I think are absolutely incredible.  He has a profoundly kind heart, has a hilarious sense of humour, is outgoing, always up for an adventure & has a wonderful creative side.  He tells neat stories & draws very cool pictures.  He is a hoot. When Matt was 6, he had the ultimate dream to wake up with his very own tentacles attached to his back.  That was during his Spiderman era & he wanted to have the “Doc Oc” look.  Each night, I tucked him in & listened to his prayers & then his dreams.  For night after night, month after month, his dream was that he would soon wake up with the tentacles attached to his back.  One night after many times of sharing his tentacle dream, he said to me that he was pretty sure that tomorrow was the day that he was going to wake up with those tentacles because he said that for several nights in a row that there had been a shooting star outside his window.  He said that he had wished upon the shooting star for the tentacles.  Later, we both discovered that the “shooting star” that he kept seeing was in fact the street light across the street.  Once Matt made that discovery, it was okay because he had moved on to another dream. 

If I see a shooting star, I go ahead & make a wish too.  It is fun to do that all together with our sons & of course everyone swears the others to secrecy in case sharing the dream would make it not come true.  Diabetes will not “steal” our family dreams we have decided.  It is not a reason to stop dreaming.  It is not a reason to stop having adventures & having belly laughs & sharing time with others.  For our family, tentacles or no tentacles, diabetes or no diabetes, we carry our child-like wonder, hope, belief and dreams with us each & every day.

My hope for you is that you don’t lose sight of your child-like wonder, hope & dreams.  By the way, if you happen to wake up with tentacles, please be sure to let me know!

Smiles, Saundie :)

One of my favourite shows is Law & Order.  Years ago, the assistant district attorney was played by a gentleman who had a confident, “don’t mess with me” kind of way about him.  The line that always made both my husband & I laugh was, “I don’t think so sir!”  It was the way the line was delivered. 

As long as we are on a wee bit of a t.v. roll, there is one other line from another show that seems to be a great one too.  This line is from a comedy cartoon sketch.  It is delivered from a horse & this cartoon horse when asked by the reporter about his views always said, “no sir, I don’t like it.” 

These 2 lines remind me about how political incorrectness for want of another word relates to misconceptions about diabetes out in the “ether”.  What I would rather start here is a “politeness revolution” when it comes to diabetes & you know what…365 health challenges in general.  When it comes to our children, most parents will agree that it is a great thing to teach our children to say please & thank-you & other forms of politeness.  As parents we both tell our children & show them through example what is meant by being polite.

How do you view people with diabetes?  If you have diabetes, then how do you feel others view you?  We all likely have one big thing in common & that is that it is not enjoyable nor desirable to be labeled or to have false perceptions divide us as a human community.  Okay, what do we do “about” & “with” the labels that are out there currently? 

When you purchase a new article of clothing or an item in general there is usually a label on it with the price or size on it.  What do you do before you enjoy that article?  You cut the label off, right?  Let’s go ahead & do the exact same time because the right time to do that is “exactly now.”

If we all agree that it is not embarrassing to wear glasses, take say medication like a tylenol, use an inhaler, put on a band-aid, or other things along these lines, then let’s check our thoughts on diabetes related medical care.  If you have type 1 diabetes, insulin is life sustaining.  In order to know how much insulin to take, we need to do a glucose test…it is our compass or GPS.  We need to arrive at the “right blood sugar” result so we need to know both where we “are” & where we are “going”.  If we go into a low (hypoglycemia), we have to treat it with a fast acting sugar right away. 

How do you feel if you see a person with diabetes doing a blood test, injecting insulin or speedily taking in a fast acting sugar?  Why do you suppose folks feel differently about the glasses, pain medication, inhaler and band-aid than the diabetes related medical treatments?  My thought is that it could be because the labels have not been peeled off, pulled off or cut off of diabetes & the life sustaining treatments that are required every minute of the day.

It is not my intention to cause anyone any discomfort by being hugely overt about my life sustaining required care.  Here’s an example… when I was initially diagnosed, I had to inject myself 4 times a day with a needle.  Often, the dreaded time of the day would come & I would be in public.  I did not ever inject myself in front of others in public nor did I inject myself in front of guests in our home.  That is not what I am getting at.  I did excuse myself to do what I needed to do.  The part that bothered me most at that time was the feeling that I would often get of embarrassment that I had to take these needles.  Where did that come from I finally asked myself.  That is a result of labels I felt.  Okay, so problem identified.  How about the glucose meter tests?  I have found myself doing necessary tests in my purse, under a chair and in other clandestine fashions over the years.  At times, I have felt like a Seuss-like character balancing this or that while hiding my meter to do a blood test in public.  Again, why?  Labels.  Again, problem identified.

You know I am “hard-wired” for a happy ending.  Here it comes.  Once I received my beautiful friend, my insulin pump, from day one, I made a decision to wear it on the outside & not hide it.  The only label at that point was the stickers or pump “skins” with the funny designs on them.  I have had oodles of people tell me that I have a cool pedometer, and iPod.  My reaction is always the same & that is, “thanks for the compliment, but this is my pancreas.”.  I say it in a heartfelt way & always with a huge smile.  Over the years, I have had doctors ask me about my pump & I get to share my “love story” of my pump with them too.  The blood testing in public is a work in progress.  Over the last year, I have either mentioned when I need to do one & discreetly do one or just go ahead & do one when with others.  Previously, I would politely wait until a discreet time presented itself.  This is not a great choice since a person could be in low blood sugar & the person with them has no idea.  When a person is in low blood sugar, it is like you are already an ant pushing a 1000lb boulder up a hill so political correctness on top of that…yikes.  I have had to pull out a juice box or glucose tablets in church,at parks, at school events, during volunteer work & during work-related activities & in a myriad of other environments before due to the odd low blood sugar.  That is just a fact of life of a person with diabetes who is sustained with insulin.  When I was first diagnosed, I would try to discreetly drink a juice hidden within my purse.  I don’t do that anymore…I just behave naturally…just like when I reach for my reading glasses. 

Here is the best part.  The last time that I reached for my meter & a juice box was with a community group that I am a part of.  I did what I needed to do & sure enough was in a low.  I went ahead & had my juice.  The lady sitting next to me softly put her hand on mine & whispered in my ear, “is there anything you need?”  I answered no thanks at the time.  After the gathering, I reached for her hand & added, “that meant the world to me.”  The other great news is that since I wear my “pancreas” on the outside all dressed up, I am finding that people are asking me questions & building understanding.  The thing that makes my heart beam is the hope that through this ripping off of the labels & teaching diabetes “political correctness” that when folks see another person with diabetes out there that they will think it is the most natural thing in the world for that person to take care of their diabetes needs whether they are in private or public.  Even better than that, I hope that another person with diabetes receives a gentle hand on theirs.

Best of all, my heartfelt hope is that you are the person that receives that gentle hand of understanding on your hand.

Smiles, Saundie J

How classic is it to see kids playing with the largest cardboard box that they can get their hands upon?  With pure imagination & engineering ability, children seem to come up with some of the most unique uses for what we as adults may consider at best recycling material.

In life, we can often see parallels in objects & thinking.  As we watch children making a multitude of creative uses out of the good old cardboard box, it can represent to us as adults that life too can be approached by choice & with out of the box thinking.

Ordinary days or events can be transformed into extraordinary ones.  As we “grow up” it is my belief that our creative abilities continue too to grow.  It could be though in many cases that our inner “stifle” can sometimes go into overdrive.  At what point in our lives do we choose to simply be ourselves?  By this I mean totally ourselves.  Somewhere along the way to adulthood it seems that it becomes a rite of passage that most individuals go through a bit of a “simmering” of enthusiasm.  The great news though is that if this has happened to you or I that bringing back our passion for life, our enthusiasm& creativity is an idea & decision away. 

Last week, I read a quote that spoke to my heart.  To paraphrase , it essentially said that we each choose to be totally ourselves when we meet the people that we are most comfortable with.  Here’s the aha moment though that I found in that quote.  I thought, hmm, what if the comfortable person that we find along the way is actually ourselves.  That would then mean that wherever we are & whoever we are with…well…guess what, we are ourselves because the “comfortable friend” that we bring everywhere is our self.  That felt “exactly right” to me because then we do not need to rely on the company that we find ourselves in.  We rely on the comfort that we have in ourselves & from that, we decide to go ahead & fully be ourselves. 

Okay, now what in the world does any of this philosophy have to do with 365 health challenges?  Here it is…we can choose to stop apologizing for having a health challenge to others along the way.  We are each way huger & so much more than our health anyhow.  Okay, so if it is a challenging day health wise, my decision for a couple of years now has been to be upfront about that.  Sometimes, I will use humour to convey how the day is going & other times a more straight forward approach & other times especially if I am with an especially intuitive battle buddy, a knowing wink or smile will do.  It does not mean that I feel sorry for myself because I do not.  The flip side though often can be hiding our feelings & a part of ourselves on challenging health days to others as we do not want to “bother” someone with it.  Some days, let’s face it, we can “suffer in silence” yet there is a choice in between feeling like a victim or being a martyr.  The choice is to go ahead & be comfortable with ourselves & just let the honesty of the situation be shared as if it is simply part of a natural conversation.  It seems as if when we are comfortable with ourselves, others are too.  When we make a big deal out of something or behave unnaturally, well, it tends to lead to others feeling uneasy.  And what could be more natural than simply being ourselves? 

The week in between Christmas & New Years, I have found has been the one week of the year that is especially challenging health wise for the past 6 years.  This year, I have saved more energy by simply being comfortable with whatever the day brings health wise.  Here’s the cool part…I have felt better I am certain as a result.  That does not mean that probably like a number of folks with type 1 diabetes that I have not seen more 15’s registering on my glucose meter than I would like to see.  I am just okay with it especially for a week out of the year if it means that I get to instead choose to enjoy my family, friends & this adventure that we call life.  The neat thing though that this year, I tried a little experiment on myself (the sociologist in me at work), & that was that I would admit if I needed a bit of time to myself.  A couple of times, I was preparing feasts which I love to do for my Dear Hearts.  My glucose shot up like a rocket for a variety of reasons.  I went ahead & let my Dear Hearts know that my glucose had skyrocketed & it would be great if I could just work away in the kitchen on my own for a while.  As I then calmly cooked, my glucose came down (with insulin correction thanks to Sir Frederick, my new pump).  By the time meal times rolled around, my glucose was back in range & we enjoyed one another’s company.  It was a more natural & more health building choice then having well intentioned folks in the kitchen while I was trying to take blood sugars from boil to simmer.  The extra bonus too was that the Dear Hearts instead got to play with our boys & our goldie & just relax at this time of year.

Here’s another “out of the box” experience that has happened for the past 6 years at our home.  This is something that puts the extra love into this time of year in my heart.  Ever since we moved to our home 6 years ago, we have received a telephone call during Christmas week from a once stranger who is now a family friend.  The first Christmas that we had in our home, the telephone rang & on the other end was a complete stranger.  It was a young man who simply said that he needed to call our number as it had been his Grandma’s number.  He missed his Gran very much.  Here’s the finding “your comfort outside the box” & that is in the choice with what you do if or when a telephone call like this is received.  I asked the young man to tell me about the story of his Gran’s life & we chatted for a good long time.  At the time, I thought that it was quite a heartwarming tribute to the legacy of love that his Gran gave to her grandson for him to miss her so & to speak so beautifully & honesty about her to a complete stranger.  Every year, that young man calls & we chat about Gran & we have become friends. 

This year, my hope for you too is that you give yourself the precious gift of becoming comfortable with yourself, take this comfortable you everywhere you go & live life with fullness.

Smiles, Saundie

Do you remember the movie, “Forrest Gump?”  It is neat to watch over again from time to time.  There are so many positive life messages contained within the movie & it is in my opinion a really super movie.

Tom Hanks’ line of “life is like a box of chocolates” is one that most folks are familiar with.  The character, Forrest Gump describes the similarities between the chocolates & life.  That represents to me living life with an adventurous heart.  It does not need to mean that each one of us needs to have super strengths in every area of life but rather simply live fully using our natural talents.  It is cool to read stories of people with “365” health challenges climb a mountain or go on a bike or running marathon.  I cheer these heroes on.  There is a hero in each of us & we each get to choose to share the natural talents that we have in our own way.  Everyone has something beautiful to share.

I found that the box of chocolates analogy reminds me that it is a choice to look at life through the lens of abundance versus scarcity.  It is amazing how our paths get to cross other peoples’ & the lessons that we experience from these meetings.  Have you had the joy of meeting folks that are absolutely filled with gratitude with their life?  It is surprising to me that often these are the exact same people that have endured or are enduring struggles & may not have much in terms of “stuff”.  The “stuff” that they do have, they share.  These are abundance thinkers & sharing time with these folks is peace personified.  Have you met folks that have a lot of “stuff” yet are aloof, dissatisfied & stating often that they will be happy “once I have this or once that changes.”  Yikes, a whole life could go by “waiting” for “perfect”. 

My choice throughout life has been to choose “abundance” thinking.  Hey, that does not mean that I see the world through rose coloured glasses or don’t get annoyed with some aspects of some days.  We are all human.  Life as a whole though, I find to be an adventure in abundance. 

This is a lot of talk about chocolates for a person with diabetes.  I love chocolate.  And I love living with the knowledge that I get to choose to be thankful.  You know what…I love that if I wanted to, I could eat a whole box of chocolates this Christmas if I wanted to.  Best of all, I love knowing that I will not eat a whole box of chocolates for many reasons.  First, I would rather share the treat.  Second, I love feeling well & the chances of feeling well even with an appropriate “tankard” dose of insulin are not in my favour.  (not to mention the tummy ache that any person would have).  Next, as a parent, we all know that there are “little eyes upon us” & if I make that choice, then that would not be a great example for our “barbaloots” (sons).  Incidentially, if you are a parent, there is an exceptional poem entitled “Little Eyes Upon You”.  I will post that to the Blog soon to share…it is lovely & I will check to see who the author is.  I have a copy of that poem posted on our mantle & it always fills my heart with an abundance of love.  The other reason why I choose one or two chocolates is that I taste & enjoy these treats all the more.  I feel the same way about flowers.  I love flowers.  The outside garden is a joy & I especially love hydrangeas.  Indoors, I have not yet had much success keeping plants going for too long.  I like to joke with my family that I nurture people instead.  My husband gives me 3 lovely hydrangea flowers to put into a vase inside our home from the florists on our anniversary.  He knows that 3 is the abundant number for me.  In our home, great things have come in 3’s!  3 boys, 3 words in “I love you”, and “I am here”, “I will help”,”tell me about”, “I am listening” to name a few of the great 3’s.  I don’t want to sound too much like a Sesame Street episode at this point “brought to you by the number 3” (ha! ha!)

A mentor once shared a gem of wisdom.  He said that when folks have too much of what would otherwise be a good thing, they are unhappy.  Food is a great example.  If we think about food as sustenance for our bodies fueling us for the day in terms of abundance, the “right” amount & type is seen through a lens of health.  Right, we can choose to eat a whole plate of cookies.  No thanks.  The flip side of things is that I also am not prepared to eat a bushel of broccoli either.  With or without diabetes, the abundance is to me, the choice of health building meals with wee treats & that is “just right”.  If I choose to tell myself that I cannot have a treat from time to time I am sure that I would crave, crave crave it.  No way am I going to choose to think in those “scarcity” terms.  Not only do I get to choose what I feed my body yet just as important to me, I get to choose what to feed my mind.

Abundance.  I have exactly what I need & am thankful with what I have.  It is a mindset & we get to choose “abundance thinking.”

Blessings for a day filled with thankful abundance!

Smiles, Saundie :)

 Unless the words, “shall I compare you to” come before a Shakespearean Sonnet, it is my steadfast belief that the “sport” of comparison of people is one that leads to division & many other negative outcomes.

Let’s take a moment to think back to when we were children with a new toy.  In a child-like manner, it would not be unusual for one child to say to another in a boastful way that he or she has this newest & greatest “thingmadoodle.”  The retort would often be from the other child ,”well that is nothing, you should see my new thingmadoodle as it is a million times better.”  That’s understandable for kids as they are still learning the lessons in life surrounding humility, taking an interest in others, being happy for others & realizing that life can be looked at through the lens of abundance vs scarcity.  By that, I mean, just because one person appears to have something better, it does not need to turn into a sport of comparison & mitigation of the other person’s accomplishment or item at hand.  The choice can be to be happy genuinely for another person & not choose to feel “less than” because the other person is celebrating something positive in his or her life.

It is one thing to hear one child say to another that they just got a new remote controlled helicopter.  Then another child may reply “that’s nothing” & then add on an embellishment of what they have that is so much better.  Finally, another child may chime in with a further, “Yeah, well, I own a real helicopter & fly it myself to school really early each morning!”  It is quite another to enter into comparisons as an adult with the knowledge of how detrimental this can be I have found.  An example that comes easily to my mind is in the study of grief counseling whereby counselors are taught among many other things that there is great wisdom in never comparing losses.  How do you feel to have your emotions raw sharing with someone the loss of a dear one to hear something like either, “how old were they” or “it could have been worse…let me tell you about a way worse loss”.  Every loss is felt at 100%!  There is no value in comparing losses.  It leads most times to division & certainly to feelings of isolation, feeling unheard & uncared for.  Over time, I have continued to encourage folks to not compare losses but rather to be caring & offer a genuine & kind, “I am sorry for your loss.”  It makes all the difference in the world. 

Okay, Saundie, we get it, you discourage comparison & most especially when it comes to losses…now what does this have to do with diabetes?  There has been something troubling me for many years now.  It is the prevalence of comparisons when it comes to illnesses.  Illness is a loss.  Illness that is a “365” health challenge whether it is diabetes or another health challenge means that a person must find a “new normal” day to day surrounding his or her health.  Do we want to choose to have division in illness when from my way of thinking we need the union of community support & encouragement very much?  If you are like me in thinking that union or community is the answer then our words & actions need to be aligned with that philosophy. 

Over the past 5 years, I have heard & read viewpoints that I have found disheartening at times. Some people have said to me over the years that “it is too bad that you have type 1 diabetes since if you  had type 2 there would be something that could be done to improve your health.”  In this case, I have had a great opportunity to do 2 things:  first, educate folks on the fact that there are treatments (not a cure…treatments) available for folks with type 1 so please don’t feel sorry for me & second that I don’t personally see the value in comparing type 1 & type 2 diabetes.  Yes, they are different & so are people.  There are days when I feel on top of the world & have a stellar blood sugar control day.  There are days when this is not the case.  There are good & bad days with type 1 & there are good & bad days with type 2.  I am not comparing the diabetes types as I see no point to that.  I feel badly for anyone with diabetes or any other 365 health challenge that is having a challenging day & I feel happy for folks that are having a “personal best” day.  That is a choice.  You know what, I have also had folks say to me over the years that “it is too bad that you got type 1 as an adult…”  I won’t finish the whole sentence.  Again, I take the opportunity to correct this misconception.  The reality is that there is no good time for anyone to get diabetes or any other health challenge.  Enough with the comparisons…the divisions in community. 

Let’s put this in perspective surrounding parenting or family or friends.  I would not hope nor expect any of our sons to be the same or compare them.  Instead, as a mom, I choose to love each son at 100% and to try my best to understand what lights up each of our boys…to meet them at each heart’s needs.  I think we can say the same about our family & friends.  Do you love each person in your life at 100%?  Do you feel loved at 100%?  I hope you do not feel the pain of being compared or labeled or misunderstood.  If you or I sometimes feel this way, than there is still work to do with the “education on fire!”  Let’s start with ourselves & then those closest to us with the motto of “new rule, no comparing of people since it is divisive.”  We have a decision to make & act upon to build community by discarding comparisons of health challenges & instead unite to build strength instead…understanding, compassion, sharing of legitimate information sources & encouragement.  How about caring & acceptance as a guide post?    We can honour one another in our community by entering into a “non-comparison of health struggle” campaign.  Yes, type 1 & type 2 are different & yes, each person with diabetes is different too.  Do we want to compare or do we want to support one another?  Yes, each & every 365 health challenge is different & again, so is each person.  There is no need to compare health struggles I feel with all my heart.  What makes you feel stronger…encouragement, kindness, understanding & acceptance or being told that someone else has it better or worse than you?  The answer is obvious.

One of the truths that I share often with our sons is this…love grows exponentially &  that means that the more mommy loves, the more love that is further created.  It is like this when it comes to caring & support, don’t you think?  The more we encourage, do our best to understand what others are going through, give kindness & acceptance, the more these grow too.

Today, let’s all give ourselves a gift.  Let’s plant a garden in our hearts that grows the uniting & community-building qualities…and there shall bloom kindness & care, encouragement & acceptance of others.  Let’s make a decision to discard the comparisons which in the garden of life are weeds that take away from the beauty.  Here’s to you & the ongoing  building of our beautiful community garden!

Smiles, Saundie :)

How do you feel when someone you know well or even a stranger does an act of kindness for you?  It feels pretty incredible, right?  How about if we think very briefly about the folks that have not behaved in a supportive manner?  What does it feel like to be there to witness someone doing the next right thing?  How about that feeling of being present during another person’s choice to not do the next right thing?

Here’s the thing…people have free will.  The decision resides within each of us daily as to whether we will choose “the next right thing” or something lesser.  It sure feels amazing when we ourselves choose the “right thing” no matter how difficult that may be.

It is disappointing when we are at the end of either an interchange or behavior that is a consequence of another person’s choice to not engage in “the next right thing” behavior or action.  When we find ourselves in these situations, what do we choose to do?   There are oodles of choices.  One choice is to ask questions in an effort to understand why this is happening.  Once we have an understanding, the next choice is what we do “with” the situation.  Do we choose to communicate to the other person that what they have said or done has been hurtful to us or do we choose to let it be?  Regardless of the choice that we each make, there is one thing for sure & that is no matter what, I know that I have the choice to continue to love the person even if I do not agree with the behavior.

In life, we cannot always choose what happens to us.  That is something that all our human family shares in common.  There are going to be times in life where trials & struggles happen during certain chapters of our lives.  If we have diabetes or another “365” health challenge then we have an additional load to bare.  We have good health days & then not so good health days.  Then there is the added challenge of juggling other challenges on top of that.  Just because another challenge is happening to us, we don’t get to set the diabetes or other health struggle aside to deal with something else.  That is the reality.  The great news is that we always have the choice over our spirit, our thoughts & what we want to do “with” the struggle of either diabetes, another health struggle or additional struggles.

Here’s my realistic optimist at work.  When it comes to diabetes or another 365 health challenge, there are people in our lives that knew us before the health challenge.  My heart’s belief is that the incredible majority of family & friends in our lives that knew us before our health challenge will try their best to support us.  Okay, Saundie, that’s great, you may say yet how about if we talk realistically for a few moments about our shared experiences of the folks that don’t support us on our journey with diabetes or another health struggle?  We may ask ourselves, “what’s that all about?”  Or, we may say, “why would some people choose to abandon us in a time we need them even more?”  Stay with me here…you know I insist on a happy middle & ending…there will be one!

Over the past 5 years with diabetes, I have found that there have been some “bumps” along the way.  Each person’s “bumps” will be as individual as the person is himself or herself.  Let me share with you that if you have felt misunderstood or unsupported along your journey at times, you are not alone.  It is an awful feeling to say the least.  Unfortunately, 2 families that knew me before diabetes & upon diagnosis did make the choice to be unsupportive…one by abandoning our family & the other family by choosing to elect to sometimes abandon & other times attack.  There are times when strangers may choose to say some of the strangest things you may have noticed too.  They may be times when a derogatory statement is made about having diabetes or another health challenge.  To all of these things, I say passionately, there is no place for that behavior on my battle buddy team!  The great news is that we get to choose who goes onto our battle buddy team just like any great team gets to choose its members.  The best news is that I also get to choose a few more things:  first, I get to choose what to let linger in my mind & heart about different interchanges, what I am going to do about a situation & what I am going to do with a situation.

The everyday heroes that are on my battle buddy team are beautiful, spirited, kind people.  Just like you, I get to choose who goes onto the team.  And we also get to choose what a battle buddy looks like on the inside.  I would love to share several stories that honour many battle buddies of mine.  Over time, it is my heart’s plan to honour each & every single battle buddy. 

Many years ago & long before diabetes, I got quite sick while in first year university.  I had to go into the hospital for a short time & then recover at home with my Mom & Dad.  First of all, my Mom & Dad drove down to the university to pick me up in record time.  This was not to be the last time by any means that my Mom & Dad have driven nearly 3 hours in any direction to help in a heart beat.  When I was diagnosed with diabetes, my parents “found themselves in our neighborhood” & had driven down to our home & began to set to work helping for a few days to look after our 3 very young sons. My Dad is positive & inspiring & has a cool sense of humour & he is the first one to help in the community. My Mom is one of the hardest working people I know.  She is a get right in there with your sleeves rolled up kind of person.  She helps all the time in the community & in the family with no fanfare & she is deeply kind.  My parents are unsung heroes.   That is a snapshot of my parents’ loving hearts.  Back to the story about getting ill during first year university.  While I recovered at home during the Christmas break, my spirits had lowered with the illness initially.  On the scene came my youngest uncle (3 years older than I am), Rob.  He was right over & brought over his stereo & a huge assortment of music.  That lit my heart so much.  That act of kindness stayed with me.  I hope you have a “cool Uncle” too!

Let me share my cousin, Lindy & my Aunt Saun with you for a few minutes too.  My cousin is a sister to me.  We have “roots” & are friends of the heart.  She is kind & I get to be myself with her.  We share the hugest laughs & share an eccentric sense of humour that we both “get.”  She is spiritual & inspirational & I love her profoundly.  Lindy’s Mom, my Dear Heart, Aunt Saun is a light in this world.  I could not be more proud to be named after her.  She is a lady who has always & continues to do incredible works & acts of kindness within the small community that I grew up in.  My Aunt stands up for what is right & she tirelessly gives of herself to our family & to the community.  The first year that I had diabetes, it was just a few weeks before Christmas.  That first Christmas with diabetes was rough.  Somehow, my Aunt has always had that heart’s connection even 100 miles away.  The phone rang Christmas morning & it was my Aunt with encouraging & loving words, unrushed & went into my heart profoundly.  How cool is it that every single “gift” that I have mentioned cannot be purchased from a store…that is love.

There are many, many friends & family members that I look forward to sharing with you in the New Year.  I hope that the acts of kindness that these battle buddies that I am describing remind you of spectacular folks within your circle of family & friends.  Here’s the other thing, & that is that we are always adding to our community of battle buddies.   Life is funny, the little acts of kindness may seem fleeting yet they are not.  It turns out that the so called little acts of kindness are the love that is poured into our cups…our hearts.

We get to choose what we let our hearts & minds linger upon.  How about lingering upon the blessings that our battle buddies are to us.  We get to be grateful for the loved ones that were there for us before diabetes or other health struggles & the new battle buddies & loved ones who have joined our “team.”  As an aside, the folks who have chosen to behave in unsupportive ways…well, I made a decision a long time ago to forgive them & love anyhow.  The best news is that I choose to focus on the “365” team of battle buddies who are the unsung every day heroes.

May you too choose to focus on the  love you have for  your “365” team.  We are in this community together so we are each on one another’s team so thank you for you too!

Smiles,  Saundie

Understandably, our hearts & thoughts are filled with the outpouring of compassion with Friday’s indescribable losses.  Collectively, we are profoundly shocked.  Most of all, we share in a sadness beyond words for the families enduring a pain that no one should ever face.

The young faces that we do not know & have not seen as well as the adults & all the families that lost a loved one in this tragedy need to be remembered & honoured my heart says.

The prayer as well is that many changes are made within societies…ones that will serve to protect our collective children, brothers, sisters, moms, dads, aunts, uncles, grandmas, grandpas, friends & people we do not know. 

Where do our minds go as we process what has just happened?  Each of us is different just as we are meant to be.  Do we share a common community of human spirit though?  If not now, please let’s make this the promise to ourselves that we will “get there.”  You know that my heart’s passion is building community.  How do you build community after hearing about a tragedy?  My feeling is that we build it by intentionally choosing kindness with one another for starters.  It is in the small decisions daily I find that kindness is grown.  It can start with a simple slowing down & being “present” with others.  What do we see within one another’s eyes?  Is it pain or loneliness or is it something else?  Let’s stop & notice & then equally importantly, let’s choose to care instead of feeling either uncomfortable in another person’s pain or not wanting to get too involved.  We are all children…meant to be one human family. 

Folks are feeling a myriad of emotions in neon colour upon hearing Friday’s losses to our human family.  We have choices to make with one another.  We can choose to carry on with our every day “stuff.”  We can make choices that reflect that we are not willing or able to be comfortable feeling deeply sad.  We can enmesh ourselves in isolating behaviours.  How about if instead we decide & choose collectively as a human family to care about one another all the time.  How about if we go ahead & uncomfortable or not, we choose to reach out to others who are in pain within our human family.  How about if we decide to stop running frantically because a certain date is coming up on the calendar.  What if instead of doing that, we get silent with ourselves & let a heartfelt idea come to our minds & hearts in the form of an act of kindness for at least one other person right away.  I cannot remember who it was that had a wonderful quote yet it goes something like this…”you cannot do an act of kindness too soon.” 

As a community, we have a choice too about what we allow to linger within our minds.  Do we choose to honour the families feeling unspeakable heartbreak by uniting together in care & compassion?  Do we say right out loud, “love is stronger?”  What happened last Friday should not have happened.  What we do next defines us as part of the human family.  Let’s choose to reach out in small & big ways right away to one another from this point on.  It would make a fine human mission.  Let’s honour & care, send not only our prayers but also act towards one another in ways that are loving & kind too. 

Love absolutely lasts forever.

In Community,  Saundie

How great is it to know that there are people in our lives that we know are there for us through good times & in the challenging times too!  In turn, these same special family & friends know too that we would give them the very moon back to them too.

Most of us can vividly picture the people in life over the years that “have had our back.”  You cannot help but to smile to think of them.  Some could be faces of friends or family that stood up for us when we were younger & we needed a champion.  It is that feeling that we are not in “it” alone.  I don’t know about you, but I have never outgrown the appreciation & need for the “got your back, Jack people.”  It takes strength to be a champion & to stand either behind or in front of or beside someone when the majority may not be on a person’s side at that chapter in one’s life.  To say that I admire people who are principle & value-centered is an understatement.  Add passion to that & the recipe for an every day hero is created. 

Every person goes through struggles in life.  That is something that we can all share a sense of community in knowing.  How do we notice, support, care & “have the back” of people going through challenges.  It will be different for each person because each individual needs different things at different times since we are all “exactly ourselves.”  How great does it feel when you do stand up for someone or help someone out when they are struggling?  I have found that it is an amazing feeling.  One thing that I have never outgrown is the “secret Santa.”  Here’s my spin on it though…I love doing the “secret Santa” all year long.  People need to feel cared about the whole year long, don’t you think.  I have been referred to as “oh that must have been Saundie Claus at work” over the years.  How wonderful it feels to send a hand-written note or share timelessness with someone or bake & deliver goodies or show up with simply a hug & say that you are in the neighborhood.  It feels even better to reach out to someone & have them never know who did that secret kindness yet that person just knows that someone out there cares.  I know, I know, my goodness, my sentimental heart is perhaps a bit old-fashioned yet caring I believe with all my spirit never goes out of fashion.

Okay, where in the world does any semblance of a relationship to diabetes come into this sharing of time together right now?  Well, last Thursday afternoon, out of the blue my insulin pump decided that it was finished its career (2 years early).  It has been literally a life saver over the past 4 years.  It has been neat to have such faith in it to help me help myself to be as healthy as possible.  It changed my life those 4 years ago & even to this day, the thankfulness in my heart to have a pump is beyond words.  I absolutely love it.  Having this first pump quit early was one of those usual conflicting emotions things that happen in life.  My first thought was of course, no this cannot be happening.  Next, panic briefly & then get a hold of myself to figure out what to do within the next couple of hours.  I knew one thing for sure & that is that there is no way that I am going to entertain the idea of ever going back to 4 needles to the tummy again.  One year of that was enough for me.  The irony has never been lost to me that I am somewhat phobic about needles.  I literally laugh at myself about that one & of course, I had to get beyond that to ensure best possible health.  Now, please don’t get me wrong, not everyone feels the same way about the insulin pump.  It is an individual decision.  Everyone needs to make the best decision for what makes sense to their life & life style.  I only speak for myself in saying that I would not want to live even a couple of hours without my pump.  The other part of the conflicting emotions & here comes the part with my sentimental heart seeping in…it was difficult to say good-bye to a friend that had “my back.”  When I received my first pump, our sons & I named the pump “King Arthur.”  It seemed like a nice strong name for a job that was going to take super strength.  From the first moment that I “hooked” myself up my pump, I had faith in “King Arthur.”  This pump has been a miracle to me & now I bid it farewell as I get ready to package it up & send this friend back to the pump company so that they can analyze why Arthur decided to take an early retirement.

Okay, you know I love a happy ending.   One of the cool things that I received when I welcomed “King Arthur” 4 years ago to our family was a “buddy” as well.  The buddy was in the form of a short term temporary back up pump that I could wear if anything happened to “King Arthur” while I awaited either a new main pump or cpr on Arthur.  Having the “buddy” meant that I could call my pump company to arrange cpr on Arthur yet I could be all set while I waited with an “I’ve got your back” pump while I waited.  The peace that this provided is priceless!  When Arthur shut down, I called my dear heart, “mathlete” husband.  My dear heart got my back up buddy up & going in record time.  Thursday afternoon, I had 2 “I’ve got your back” friends at the same time I realized with a grateful heart.  There was my “mathlete” who time & time again has with a cool head helped me out with the technical side of diabetes.  It goes without saying that my husband also has a quiet, caring, huge heart as well & time & time again has said that he would take this diabetes on himself in my place in a heartbeat.  If that is not the definition of an “I’ve got your back” friend, then I would be shocked.  The second “I’ve got your back” friend of Thursday was the back up pump buddy.  He & I have had a wonderful week together of health!  I took him to 2 Christmas parties & an adventure to Toronto to see a dear heart friend that I had not seen in over a decade!  This buddy even went along on an outing where we got a flat tire.  (luckily the mathlete was there ha! ha!)  It has been a great week with my back up buddy.  You know what, my back up buddy also has a name & it will not surprise you to hear what it is!  It is Jack as in “I’ve got your back, Jack.” 

This morning, the Fed Ex delivery van pulled up in front of our home.  Have you ever wanted to hug the delivery person?  I can tell you that I sure did!  Why?  Contained in a wee box is my new “main pump” to get to know & befriend for the next 1-2 years.  I already know that it is going to be the start of another very dear friendship.  The fun part this week with our family will be coming up with the perfect name for the new friend.  And I know with all my heart & faith that this pump will “have my back” too.

May you find that whether you have diabetes or another “365” health challenge that you have buddies each & every day that you know with all your heart have your “back too.”

Smiles,  Saundie