"Acceptance"

During the last 13 years there have been several things I have been forced to "accept." When I was 13 and newly diagnosed, I remember "accepting" that I could no longer have regular soda, juice, and cereal. These foods, although not forbidden, are so high in sugar that managing them with insulin injections just made things harder. Not impossible but harder.

Throughout high school I went through the motions of seeing the doctor and listening to the lectures about keeping my blood sugars controlled. I knew the facts about long term affects of high blood sugars but reasoning with a teenager (I can only imagine) is like trying to communicate with a door.  For all the times I rolled my eyes and didn't "accept" the lifestyle changes I really needed to make, I am sorry. 

I can't however say that those rebellious teenage years didn't have a positive affect on my outlook today. I may have proven that living with high blood sugars is possible, but now that I have been in really good control for the last 6 years, I could never go back. I could never go back to being tired all the time, having a hard time concentrating, the mood swings, and the constant need to eat, to name a few. These days I am thankful to have energy, feel like I can exercise, and generally feel happy most of the time. It's hard to believe that all of these things can be related to blood sugars, but like I said, it would have been hard to appreciate how I feel now without knowing what is was like to hit rock bottom back then.

I titled this post "Acceptance" with the quotations, because for me, acceptance is an ongoing process. I always feel like there is something I am forced to accept, whether it be a food choice to the possibility of various medical complications later in life. I may never fully accept the idea of diabetes, but every day I certainly accept to TRY to accept these things, no matter how big or how small. It's probably even a good practice for other things in life ... let me know how it works for you :-)