Home is the place you return to, take your shoes off, and let comfort hold you in its warm embrace. Everyone needs a place of refuge to unwind, recharge and nurture. The world throws a derailment or challenge into our path at every turn. A “great day” is normally due to a lack of chaos, rather than a life-altering, smile-inducing event.
Living with Type 1 diabetes adds a tiresome list of complications to our one-foot-in-front-of-the-other journey. More often than not, life feels taxing, if not overwhelming. How many times have you cracked over hitting a stop light, when you’re simply running late? Or broken into tears because you’re drained from too many sleepless nights fighting blood sugar?
Many diabetics suffer from diabetes distress, which is a cute name for a condition centered around frustration, anxiety and fear. Unlike depression, this condition is not psychological, rather situational. Managing insulin, blood-sugar, diet, exercise, highs, lows, and sleep deprivation every single day is … exhausting.
I’ll admit, we are masters of our own universe. We’ve created this crazy, over-scheduled, always-on world we live in. At the same time however, we can also create a place of solace. For diabetics, this stress-free space is paramount to health and well-being. Stress can throw blood sugar levels in all directions, faster than a candy bar on an empty stomach.
We all conjure up a different image of the perfect nest. For our family, we’re an organized bunch. Our diabetes supply cupboard is stocked with needles, glucose, test strips, skin-tac …so there’s never a hunt. Organization carries over to all aspects of our lives — meal planning, lunch packing, where the car keys are stashed. It helps keep things simple and well-oiled, reserving energy for bigger issues.
Surrounding ourselves with comforts has made our house a home. Momentos from places we’ve visited, music and plants – inside, outside, and on our dinner plate. They make excellent companions, in addition to the cat, whether planted or cut, instantly adding life and energy. Food, however, is the central web from which our daily routines are spun.
Coffee brewing in the morning after returning from the gym, low-carb baked goods cooling on the counter, the smell of dinner simmering in the crockpot after a long day. It’s a lot easier to nourish ourselves when we know what we’re eating and where it came from. Our pantry is stocked with tasty snacks, meals are made in abundance so there are always leftovers waiting in the fridge, and dinner is together more often than not.
In many ways, our home returns us to a simpler time. Where the little things matter more than what we’ve accomplished. Negative energy is kept outside. We talk to each other, plant seeds of change, and hug a lot. Stress creeps in when you let it, at our house, we ask it to remain on the other side of the front door.
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