Sweet Halloween

Okay, so to all of the parents of babies with d, I hope all of the little ones (and you all) had a Happy Halloween. When I was younger Halloween used to fill me with dread. Post-diagnoses years really tainted the holiday which used to be one of my favorites, along with Christmas with it's cookies and Thanksgiving with it's carb-filled dinners and sweet pies. In my mind, due a lot to the many voices of ignorance, diabetes meant to me "no candy, no cookies, no pies, no cake"...etc. We all know that this is not the case, simply that moderation is key; however, I'm not sure if it was just the way things were back then or merely the way my baby brain processed direction, for a ten year old, hearing "no candy" on a day where they just give the stuff away was like a dagger to the heart! My parents and my granny used to help me cheat, candy in moderation and all that. Family, friends and neighbors would buy sugar free candy just for me, bless their hearts, and give me a whole bag sometimes when I came to their door shrieking "Trick or Treat!" Of course, I would rebel and abuse Halloween when unsupervised, making myself sick with candy binges. Naturally, that didn't last very long. But the lengths that people who cared about me would go to in an attempt to make sure I felt like just another regular kid on Halloween fills me with gratitude. I didn't see it then, but these days, when the holiday season comes around, I always feel this gratitude and appreciate the holidays in a very different sense. I know there isn't a thing most parents wouldn't do to ease the pain and make my little friends with d forget their disease any day, but especially on days like Halloween. So, I wanted to thank all of you wonderful parents for doing this for your kiddos, like I know you all did. I would love to hear some of your clever ideas for special Halloween treats for your kids, too.

My Halloween was special. I stopped caring so much about candy since I started noticing that my butt gets a little bigger a lot faster, so that's not really an issue for me anymore. I dressed up as a buccaneer and went to a party to listen to my good friend and some other talented Jacksonville musicians play some dang good music. I tapped my pirate boots all night long! After that, went to a costume contest at AJ's in Jax, I didn't place, but was in Top 5. Woo-Hoo! It was actually my first costume contest since I was a pre-teen, so I feel pretty good about it. Sunday night I took my handsome 22 month-old nephew to Jacksonville Zoo's Spooktacular. He was a buccaneer, too, but looked much better then I did. He was awesome in the Haunted House paths, didn't scream, jump or cry at all! It was recommended for ages 10 and up, so I was a little nervous, but he was a pro!

I feel good about these kinds of Holidays since growing up. Glad that I'm not still haunted by bitterness for these sweets-marketed celebrations, but instead graced with gratitude. I love that so many little d buddies have friends and family out there like mine, then and now, that do their best to help us not feel like outcasts because we can't rot our teeth and gain that seasonal 10 lbs this time of year without getting sick and stressing about numbers, going blind or losing limbs. I'm so happy that I got over those feelings I associated with these awesome holidays, and I pray that your kids do, too, or better yet, never have to feel that way at all. Keep on doing what you're doing, though, because even if my young d friends do feel like this (and I have a feeling it's a little natural) they will get over it, and have such warm, loving memories on which to look back.

Happy Halloween, y'all! Looking forward to Thanksgiving!