Recently I ran into an old acquaintance of mine at the theater and he told me he heard from a mutual friend that I had written \u201csome stuff on some diabetes blog,\u201d and he checked it out.\u00a0 He was amazed. Not at what I\u2019ve been writing (I guess my words haven\u2019t been THAT amazing thus far), but that he never knew I was a diabetic! How dare I withhold this information from him!<\/p>\n
As paranoid as most improv actors typically are, truly, it\u2019s not just him. The fact is, with friends and strangers alike, I don\u2019t lead with this info.\u00a0 I don\u2019t work it into small talk at parties, unless I\u2019m offered big bowls of sugar and carbohydrate-infused drinks, and then I\u00a0 politely decline with some subtle joke about not needing a diabetic coma right then.\u00a0 I think, years ago, I mentioned my condition on a first date after my dinner companion told me that she was a type 1 diabetic.\u00a0 My delusional dating-self at the time decided that this made us \u201cperfect for each other.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Alas, my high sugar count didn\u2019t get me any action \u2013 nor even a second date.\u00a0 Poor, poor pitiful me.<\/p>\n
The look of shock on my friend\u2019s face and the strange \u201cEnough about you, what about me?\u201d attitude got me thinking about how I define myself.\u00a0 I\u2019m lots of things \u2013 where is \u201cdiabetic\u201d on the list?\u00a0 Do I need to tell everyone I meet \u2013 and if I do, will it somehow color the relationship? Just how do you \u201ccome out\u201d about being a diabetic?<\/p>\n
I wish I\u2019d kept better track over the years of the reaction and non-reactions to this news.\u00a0 Most of the time I tried not to make a big deal out of it.\u00a0 I was living in Chicago at the time I first found out and told my folks in NY over the phone.\u00a0 I could hear their faces drop with concern, but I told them that it was \u201cunder control.\u201d\u00a0 My favorite catchphrase with my folks is \u201cdon\u2019t worry\u201d – which is extra-frustrating for them because as Jewish parents, I\u2019m denying them their G-d-given right to blow this news out of proportion.<\/p>\n
My wife doesn\u2019t remember when or how I told her, but I\u2019m sure I downplayed it, as is my norm.\u00a0\u00a0 Luckily she\u2019s sticking with me as I do battle against myself to solve this problem.\u00a0 I told some close friends and family early on, to supportive reviews, but otherwise, I don\u2019t feel I\u2019ve felt the need to wear my sugar numbers on my sleeve.\u00a0\u00a0 I\u2019m not ashamed of being diabetic mind you, but I\u2019m not ecstatic about it either of course.\u00a0\u00a0 I just am.<\/p>\n
Now that I think about it, I have gotten a range of responses.\u00a0 My bosses at the time were very concerned and definitely hucked me about trying to get into better shape.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Sometimes I got the common-ground reaction; \u201cmy grandmother is a diabetic\u2026 my friend\u2019s girlfriend is diabetic, so I totally know what you\u2019re going through\u2026 etc.\u201d\u00a0 That always came off to me like a well-intended; \u201csome of my best friends are diabetic.\u201d\u00a0 One specific comment I do remember.\u00a0 Years ago I was at a bar with other members of the cast of our hit show CO-ED PRISON SLUTS: THE MUSICAL; when, between Diet Cokes, it came out that I was diabetic.\u00a0 His response (granted he\u2019d had a few beers), was;\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t know what you mean by that.\u201d\u00a0 Well, sometimes I don\u2019t either, but I\u2019m working on it.\u00a0 There I said it.<\/p>\n
I\u2019d love to hear from people how they tell people \u2013 or have told people \u2013 about… you know.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":53098,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1501],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n