What Colour Are the Stripes Again?

When you were a kid, did anyone jokingly ask you whether zebras have black stripes on a white background or the other way around?  Did you ponder it for long or shrug that question off immediately with a laugh?  Some parts of life may remain a mystery.  One aspect of life’s journey that you may have discovered over time is that many chapters contain marathons of sorts.

Some appear in the form of mini or half marathons & others are definitely full marathons.  Some of the full marathons that we each face may at times become overwhelming at least for a while.  We may give ourselves some form of “rehydration” in the forms of either sharing time with Dear Hearts that help us refuel or participating in energy rebuilding activities that we love.  The best part is to know ahead of time that we are going to need to give this to ourselves from time to time whether we have a “365” challenge or not. 

It can be ironic at times when a life event begins to parallel something more of imagery that is happening within our minds or thoughts.  To share with you, this exact thing is happening in my life right now.  Over & over again recently, the same thought has recycled its way through my thoughts & that is, “man, this diabetes thing is a marathon & not a sprint!”  Countless times, diabetes has tried to knock me on my butt over the years.  It never gets the last word & never will.  I hope you find yourself feeling that way too towards either diabetes or any other life challenge.  Are you a procrastinator?  I tend to not be a procrastinator about almost everything.  The more undesirable the task, the more frankly I just want to get it over with so that I don’t have to think about it anymore.  It turns out though that I learned something about myself & that is that every once in a while diabetes tries to convince me to procrastinate about activities that are very enjoyable & would be great choices to participate in.  What’s that all about?  Has this happened to you too?  It is like we are participating in an ongoing marathon called diabetes (until the cure is found) & along the way, we can get tired.  What do we tend to do when we get tired out from the “diabetes marathon”?  Each one of us will have a different answer.  It is human to become tired out from any type of marathon in life.  The part that we may find that gives us strength is that the periods of needing to take a break to recharge help us to get back into the race again with even greater strength & determination.  That’s the human spirit!  Even though we cannot take “time off” from diabetes, we can choose to relax our schedules & create opportunities to do activities with people that help us to rebuild our strength.  Maybe we could equate that to stretching before exercise.  We may have completed years of a marathon with diabetes & we just need at times to admit to a battle buddy that we need care. 

Here’s the thing though & that is that when we are most tired, we may find it harder than ever to ask for support or engage in the activities that are going to help us get back to full strength for the journey again.  Recognizing that this is something that could happen is helpful I find.  We can realize it instantly when it happens & have a plan in place for this exact detour.  When we are feeling strong, we can choose to write down the plan & keep it in a spot for reference in the future.  One thing that is priceless I find is to have at least one battle buddy that you know you will share instantly that you are “tired out from the marathon.”  That battle buddy is the person that will extend his or her hand & heart & find a way to encourage us to give ourselves the specific things that we need at those times.  If the person is loving & tenacious, that may be a winning combination.  I have called on several battle buddies on the days when for some reason I seem reluctant to do the exact things that I need to do to get my strength back again.  My heart’s hope is that you have a battle buddy or several that you can call upon day or night to help you up if you stumble & gently guide you in finding your way again.  The great part is that it is a 100%& 100% relationship that we have with our battle buddies.  That means that we each give one another 100% of our care because we love one another.  A battle buddy is not someone that we call upon & drain his or her reserves but rather a Dear Heart that we love and are great friends to as well. 

Recently, I had one of those times when I found myself procrastinating about something that I love participating in.  I love the families involved in the activity & the activity itself & the social aspect & the hope that the day always brings.  The activity that I had put off was in registering for our upcoming JDRF chapter walk.  Maybe you go through times too where you kind of don’t want to think or say the word diabetes for a time.  If only we could put diabetes on a time out.  (smiles)  One of my battle buddies has been gracefully waiting kind of in the stands to see if any acts of encouragement would be helpful.  This particular Dear Heart (my husband) though has a great way of knowing when to watch from a distance & when to take my hand during rest breaks. 

Battle buddies have a way of touching our hearts in ways that are indescribable.  Late last week a wee package came in the mail as a complete surprise.  As I opened it up, my heart felt so warmed & I felt love through the mail, across the country.  Contained within the package was a beautiful blue charm set for my purse.  I love, love, love the colour blue.  It makes it pretty great as an aside that the type 1 colours are blue & white since they are a favourite combination of colours.  There are blue & white beads, a butterfly & a cure ribbon on the charm set.  On the other side of Canada, my Dear Heart cousin, Di had been preparing a surprise of “Mission Impossible” means.  Di, behind the scenes somehow found out that I had been admiring the charm set & surprised me.  As I gazed upon the delicate butterfly, ah, there it was, the hope that that beautiful creature of Mother Nature represents.  Then, as I held the cure charm, my heart was filled with that indescribable feeling of realization that I never have been nor never will be alone on this “diabetes marathon.”  My Dear Heart Di so vividly showed me this in a way that touched my heart beyond words.  Next, I shared with my Dear Heart how she had made my heart smile.  After that, I went to my computer & got registered for our chapter walk.  Di, you inspire & inspired me Dear Heart & I love you higher than Heaven!

My heart’s hope for you is that you know with all your being that although you are on a marathon that you are never alone & never will be. 

Smiles, Saundie :)

Wishing you a delightful week.  This past weekend was full of firecrackers (for Victoria Day) & a Dr. Who marathon for the boys who live here lol.  This Friday, the sharing is entitled, "Well, It's "Hokey" Yet That's It."    :)