Smaller Groups, Bigger Topics

I was reminded tonight of the wondrous things that can come from intimate conversations.

As part of the Sports and Diabetes Group Northwest, we have a monthly happy hour for people who would like to get together between workshops to talk shop and spend time being part of the majority.  Tonight, we met for pizza and beer and all things carbohydrate.  There were about nine of us gathered and spent a chunk of time catching up on each other’s lives or asking the preliminary small-talk questions to get acquainted with the people around the table.  There were conversations about various groups that serve (or do not serve) the Type I community, there were recommendations made for doctors and CDEs and online classes and pumps and the list goes on.  Our happy hours usually follow this same format and I was going along with another typical evening.

What struck me, though, was what happened when people started to leave.  As the group shrank down to seven, then five, then four, the stories grew longer and more detailed.  The recommendations were for things like counselors and new clinical trials and tips for preventing overcorrecting of lows.  Here I was with three other people–two of whom were almost strangers to me and one I would consider an acquaintance–and I was baring parts of my soul.  I felt like I had a million more things I wanted to say.  And things I wanted to ask.  A couple of us in the small group have had diabetes for a mere one to two years and still have questions that end with, “That’s ok, right?”  This after-dinner time was a time where we could check in with each other to compare notes on how we each handle the myriad of diabetes-related decisions that come our way each day.  Leaving the table, I felt renewed in my commitment to take good care of myself and and I felt renewed in my decision to be gentle with myself as I learn these many and wondrous things about diabetes.  I continue to be very thankful for the good people I have met through SDGNW and the way they have encouraged me in my diabetes care.

Plus, we had to discuss important facts like how many carbs are in a Skittle (1) and how many different flavors there are of them…

For anyone who’s interested in an amazing tutorial on how to calculate dosing for pizza, please see below:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=necuPdvdbSI&feature=player_embedded#at=36[/youtube]

Emily Patton

Emily Patton is one of those not-diagnosed-until-age-27 people with Type I. She is currently living in Seattle, Washington, where she admires Mt. Rainier from her car window during daily commutes. She grew up in Columbus, Ohio, but has since lived in Berkeley, California, Austin, Texas, and even served short stints in a small village in the Cascade Mountains.