Hello Mothers ... Don't Forget You!

Last summer
Winooski, Vermont
25^th college reunion
Ack!
25 years?
Feels like yesterday
But it’s more like a lifetime ago
A lot has happened
Fell in love
Married
Had 3 boys
Fell in love 3 more times
Became a pancreas

Late one evening

Sharing a bottle of wine with college buddies
Sharing stories of our lives
Stories about work
Stories about kids
Stories about medical problems
Yes … our medical problems
It has been 25 years
And we are getting old!

But I share no stories

I remain quiet
Very unlike me
But I had little to share
Then my old roommate asks me,
“How have you been feeling?”
“Hmmm … fine …
“Honestly, I can’t remember the last time I saw my doctor.”

Gasps

Scolding
Try to explain
But I am a T1 mom!
Don’t I get a pass?
My life IS prescriptions and doctor’s appointments
Just not mine
No pass
Just more scolding
And a little more scolding

Then another glass of wine

Conversation changes
Laughing ensues
Now we are 2 glasses in
Stories of late nights on Church Street
Stories of parties in the quad
But I didn’t forget my scolding
When I get home
I call my doctor
My roommate was right
I need to take care of me

September

Finally see my doctor
Doctor pulls out my files
“When did I see you last?”
With a guilty shrug, I say,
“I have no idea.
“It’s been awhile.”
Hmmm …
“Says here September 2009?”
Bing, Bing, Bing …
“That makes perfect sense!
“My son was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in October 2009.”
Doctor nods a sympathetic nod
“That’s a tough one.
“But no worries.
“You are here today.”

Doctor checks all normal stuff

Asks how I have been feeling
“A little run down.
“A little tired.”
I joke,
“Could be because I haven’t sleep through the night in 4 years.”
Doctor doesn’t laugh
No sense of humor
Or just a really bad joke
Instead asks,
“Let me check one more thing.”
Doctor rubs my neck
“Can you feel that?”
“Hmmm … suppose I do.”
“You have a lump.
“You need to get that checked.”

Fast forward to today
I did take care of myself
I am good

I am healthy
Feel better than I have in a long time
Happy I was scolded
And I sit here on Mother’s day
Typing this post 

For my fellow T1 moms (and all mom’s out there)

But I won’t scold
Because I get it
Being a mom is a lot of work
(That’s why there is a Mother’s day)
And being a T1 mom is a super-duper lot of work
(Every last available moment filled with BG worries)
But please remember
Put your oxygen mask on first
Kind of hate typing that over-used analogy
So I will state more simply
Don't forget you!
And if you do,
If you are lucky enough to get a scolding
from someone who loves you
Listen