An Invitation Turned Reminder

So I get an e-mail from a friend who proposes a girls' afternoon----Thai food and pedicures.

The thing is, diabetes doesn't dominate my life like it did when I was first diagnosed or even a few years ago. It has, as my doc promised, become normal.

But moments like these, like a simple invitation, reminds me that I'm not normal. I'm not carefree. I'm not just a busy mom who deserves a break.

I'm also a person with diabetes.

I don't get pedicures. For one, I just don't trust nail salons. I have no clue if they are clean or if the various substances and tools they use will be safe for my feet. You can read more about foot safety for people with diabetes on the ADA's website.

Many of us with diabetes try very hard to normalize our disease because if we are constantly feeling "special" (and not in a good way), we are restrained, jailed by our diabetes. But when diabetes becomes too normal, we risk forgetting that we aren't like everyone else. We have an incurable, demanding disease that requires our constant attention and concern.

Striking the balance between living and being responsible for diabetes is difficult. And I hope that wherever you are with your disease (or your loved one's disease), that you are carefully keeping yourself in the middle of the path---enjoying the sights around you, but staying grounded and focused---because diabetes in unpredictable, but it's also manageable.