I had the opportunity to travel for the last week. It was a vacation and I traveled to St. Lucia. St. Lucia has a population of about 174,000 residents and clearly makes the most of their income from the resort industry. The people who live in this area, with an income of roughly $13,000 annually, are very friendly to Americans and are very proud of their long history.
As I traveled across this small island, I noticed a very interesting event occurring at a corner firehouse. It was while watching a group of school children, in full uniform (they are in uniform from elementary thru college), listening to the man in uniform with wide-eyed amazement that caught my attention.
It was not that I expected something different, but it was clear to me that whatever the children were listening to, it had the full attention of every child in the room. How often is this very scene played out in every community in the United States? It struck me clearly that it does not matter where you are in the world; children are just that: children.
They are amazed by things they do not understand, they question what they do not know, they like to laugh, and their eyes are full of wonder and hope. My question is if we fully realize how much we are responsible for the wonder and hope that we place into our children’s lives? What is the example we set? I am all for being realistic but have you noticed that children become the reflection of what we give them?
In the world of diabetes, we need to ask ourselves how our kids are doing and how much do we play a role in how they do living with diabetes day-to-day. Do they feel like they can do whatever they set their mind to do, or do they live in absolute fear that diabetes will stop them? Do they move forward knowing we believe in their efforts or are they challenged at every corner that they are not taking ‘proper’ care? Do they see a future of hope or a valley of doom? What are we doing to show them that life is there for them to grab?
Children are children all across the world; they will take what we give them…….what are you giving?
I am a diabetes dad.
Please visit my Diabetes Dad FB Page and hit ‘like’.