I write because…

I have only been at this diabetes blog thing for about 6 weeks. I started drinking the Kool-Aid as an outlet for my own thoughts and feelings. I didn’t expect many to find let alone read my blog posts aside from close friends who I guilt into doing so. Last time I checked my blog had been viewed just under 750 times. I feel fairly optimistic when I think about that number even if a good deal of those views were likely me checking to see if anyone commented (yes I need my ego stroked so please feel free to comment).

So why did I choose to write about diabetes? Why not write about being a veteran, a teacher, a mom, a daughter, a wife or any number of other hats I wear? The answer is simple – of all my hats my parent of children with diabetes is the one I always wear – the other hats just get piled on top. Call me the crazy hat lady but really aren’t we all balancing multiple hats all the time?

Kerri S. www.sixuntilme.com says it best when she says “Diabetes doesn’t define me but it helps explain me” (Do I still owe Kerri a $1 for using the phrase “doesn’t define me” if I credited it to her?) I likely could put her dear daughter through college due to the number of times I use that phrase. Diabetes is the first thing I think of when I wake up and the last thing I think of when I fall asleep – not to mention the 30+ times a day I think of it and worry for my kids. I am ‘happy’ to do the thinking for my kids right now – all too soon Diabetes will be the first, last and most often thing they think of when they leave the safety of the nest. Chances are I still will be thinking about it as often. They will likely screen their calls while in college because this diabetes police woman will likely call too often for their tastes.

How does writing help me (why I write)? It allows me to unclutter my mind. I wouldn’t have to write if I was Albus Dumbledore “I sometimes find, and I am sure you know the feeling, that I simply have too many thoughts and memories crammed into my mind... At these times... I use the Pensieve. One simply siphons the excess thoughts from one's mind, pours them into the basin, and examines them at one's leisure.” (Yes I am a Potter head and yes I quoted Dumbledore in a post about healthy writing.)

My thoughts get very jumbled up and when that happens I find myself drowning in the depths of diabetes burnout. My blog has become my Pensieve. Perhaps my thoughts and experiences will find their way onto a computer screen of a parent whose child has diabetes and they will find something useful or comforting in my writings (or in any number of the links I share to much better dblogs).

Time for #DSMA Chat so I gotta run. Cheers all.