to the love of my life…
my forever partner in all SORTS of crazy…
my co-mama in the growing and raising of Ms. Diva…
the best person to ever happen to me…
you were Type Awesome before we even knew what that was.
*****
type 1 diabetes is not fair for or decent to you, either.
when we met, I ignored the crap out of it.
I told you that I had it and what it was, because that’s what I do.
but that didn’t mean I took a tiny bit of care of it, or of myself.
this broken pancreas gets in your way, too.
thank you for not letting it scare you out of our life.
*****
you are here with me in every moment of d.
all of the annoyance, fear, pissedoffedness, anger, resentment
of the challenges and pitfalls d brings our way.
AND, more recently, in the joy of the “LOOK at this 24-hour/7-day/30-day/90-day average!!!!!!!”
the amazement of the first A1c of 6 or below
of finally feeling like something is going right with d.
you are here, and I am so grateful for you.
*****
I don’t know how we took some of the journeys we took without some major d-mishaps taking place–
pure luck, and the universe winking in our direction.
standing on line for Lilith Fair in New Mexico and boiling the insulin.
me leaving on a plane for Nashville, my pump sitting on the towel rack at home in New York.
that other time I took both sets of house keys with me to the conference in Denver
(not d-related, but my goodness, there have been plenty of things for you to complain about!)
scares with eyeballs, pumps, insulin, insurance denials, new endos, no insurance at all…
no matter what, you have my back and fight the good (and bad) d-fights with me.
thank you.
*****
you learned about insulin & sugar, carbs & IOB, potential complications & depression.
about how awful 450 mg/dl is.
the difference between BGs that lower just the right amount
and unsuspecting, unsymptomed lows that creep out of nowhere
you found me slumped on the kitchen floor, gazing into the open refrigerator, and got some juice in me.
you went with me to endo appts. with dr. wonderfulendo in a different state, when I told you
I needed to see an endo with a brain instead of the dr. crappys that were a dime a dozen where we lived.
you listen when I’m scared or mad or just burned the hell out.
and you help. even if I snap at you when you ask if I need help.
you help.
*****
you make everything okay, somehow, in ways I don’t begin to understand.
navigating mazes of EOBs and phone calls and blood tests and backdated referrals,
shouldering the bother and the annoyance, the crap and the everything
picking it up when I just have to put it down
just for a minute.
thank you for supporting me, for loving me and all that d brings with me…
when Dex screams all the freaking night long b/c it thinks I’m 40, when in fact I’m 80(!!!)
when I forgot to put the pump back on and we just got our InNOut order.
when I start testing my blood just when we’re about to have dinner.
when we decided that 6 negatives were enough,
and we already have the perfect amount of enough with us and our daughter.
we are enough. together.
*****
seventeen years ago we began.
in that time, so many lifetimes.
so many moments, and not just the d-ones(!)
thank you for every single one of those moments, those days
and every one still to come.
*****
happy anniversary, my love.