Ready, Set, Celebrate!

Hey, when you are invited to a dear heart’s birthday party, what happens?  I know how I feel.  I feel super happy for that person & along with gifts and or balloons, I bring my excitement.

What would you think if I suggested that within our “diabetey community” that we each celebrate one another’s & our own milestones, steps forward & other diabetes victories?  I am not likening diabetes to a birthday party…far from it.  My thought is this though…when we achieve something in our diabetes management, why not celebrate that? 

Diabetes management can be challenging from one day to the next.  There are even days when you try to “do everything right” & yet the number on the glucose meter looking back at us is still outside the ideal range.  Goals for each person are as different to him or her as one person is to the next & that is the most natural thing in the world.  As we set objectives, why not at the same time, picture the “celebration” that we will have once we achieve the goal.  The “celebration” would be something that we enjoy & look forward to & may not do as often as we like.  I find that for me, celebrations in the form of small, treasured times mean so much.  Along the way, I have set goals of:  glucose testing a certain number of times a day (will not share the exact number as the number of tests I do is high as I wear an insulin pump so I feel comfortable with that number), exercising each day, dealing with stress, reducing scheduling complications, lowering my A1C, volunteering within the diabetes community, sharing more time with family & friends & more.  When I hit a milestone in one of the goal areas, I already know that I am going to celebrate & know what the celebration will be.  The celebrations have been small & meaningful.  Some celebrations have been going out for tea either with a friend or a book, having the house all to myself (well along with our goldie) for a couple of hours of pure peace & quiet, sleeping in, breakfast & a dvd movie in bed, reading a favourite author’s book for an hour, girls’ day out, purchase of an extra special tea & more. 

This November I wanted to set some personal objectives for myself surrounding Diabetes Awareness Month.  My goals were:  write every day during the month of November about diabetes related topics, start a diabetes community blog on or before World Diabetes Day (November 14^th), read 3 Sir Frederick Banting Biographies/non fiction books, visit Banting House, work on lowering my A1C below 7% again, and volunteer within our diabetes community.  Since I felt that this was a big list of goals, I made my celebration larger than usual.  I have managed to achieve the objectives that I set.  These objectives are much larger than any other November but I was just ready at this time…as I like to say, “it is exactly the right time”.  (usually, I will add to that, “to put on the kettle” ha! ha!)  Speaking of the kettle, the celebration of reaching the goals happened a few days ago.  I had been waiting for “exactly the right time” to visit a Tea House that I have not visited in the area before.  My husband took me there to celebrate & Blue Monkey, a sock monkey that is blue that I received this November as a mascot for Diabetes Awareness month joined us on the excursion.  It was that much sweeter enjoying the outing having so much to be thankful for.  Incidentally, I have been having a hoot with Blue Monkey this November! You will see a photo of Blue Monkey in the photo gallery section for the kid in each of us!

Setting goals & hitting them is something that I look forward to much more now that there is the planned (& self- enforced) celebration to look forward to .  Diabetes management is hard work & it is ongoing at least until there is a cure.  Why not celebrate along the way the achievements.  May your celebrations be frequent & meaningful . Bring your excitement, celebrate you & oh if you have a mascot that makes you smile, bring your version of the “Blue Monkey” with you too!   Ready, set, go, celebrate!!

Smiles, Saundie J