It's Day 3 of Diabetes Blog Week.
There are quite a few people behind me in my day-to-day adventures with diabetes. It's hard to pin it down, after all, when so many are here - Online and real people too. However, the question of the day is really to gush about those who are our BIGGEST supporters. My biggest supporter is not one person, but two - my family.
My husband leading the small pack of two supporting family members. My husband is here for me every day... cheering me on, commiserating with me, offering ideas, sympathizing, empathizing, bringing me out of lows (sometimes fighting me to do so), bringing me down from highs, puts up with my crabbiness when I'm high. He listens to me. He's interested in my ideas. He's interested when I share viewpoints and ideas from other bloggers and from members of the online community, never seeming to get bored. He encourages me to support others, and appreciates that I often turn to others in the same boat as me. He's patient with me (usually), and persistent. He's interested in my BG numbers - whether low or high. He's my middle-of-the-night watchdog, and I'm sure often checks me in my sleep to make sure I'm not going low in my sleep. And believe it or not, after all that, he keeps track of when I might need more pump supplies, strips and insulin and orders them, and keeps track of the paperwork for government perusal. My husband is my biggest cheering section. He offers me the support I need without judgement.
My daughter is another person who must be mentioned, not as a #2 supporter because that might imply that she is lesser than my husband. She's not, because she's a big part of my life. Of course I don't share everything with her, but she is 19, and is getting on with her busy life. I do not burden her with many of my challenges, as I'm sure many parents also keep challenges like these from their children. But she has risen to the occasion many times, when I have gone low. She has taken lead when I've been low, calmly taking charge, and getting bossy if necessary. It must be hard to feel the responsibility of keeping her parent safe, when, in a perfect world, it should always be the other way around. It is that, but it gives us a special bond too.
I'm sure I've missed a ton of other things my family does for the Diabetic me, but I think I've covered off an awful lot here. Despite everything that diabetes has afforded me, it has also shown me what a tremendous support my family is to me.
It's Diabetes Blog Week, and Day 3's topic is Your Biggest Supporter. We have our challenges each and every day, and our supporters help smooth the ride. I think it's really cool to see all the different viewpoints out there on the same questions. Karen has compiled a handy dandy list of other bloggers who have taken on this project at http://bittersweet-karen.blogspot.com/p/test-page_28.html