“An intelligent hell would be better than a stupid paradise.”
—-Victor Hugo
Well ain’t that the truth? It is about time we come to realize that no matter how hard we try, if you are not part of this ‘new normal’ called diabetes, you just will never ‘get it’. We have all heard the stupid statements over the years and unfortunately, the forecast for the future is stupid today, stupid tonight, with a great chance of stupid tomorrow.
The poster I have shared is from getdiabetesright.org—the webpage/FB initiative that Kim May (a mom from Texas) and I created and Kim’s ad agency works diligently to keep current; and it is full of posters that are full of education. Perhaps not as edgy as this one but surely informative…..check it out. More than that, hang a few around town.
Now I have stated hundreds of times that we might not be able to do anything about something coming our way, but we certainly have a choice what to do with it when it arrives. And being face-to-face with a stupid or ignorant comment regarding diabetes surely falls into this category.
We can get really upset about the comment or we can understand that the comment comes from someone who….well…..just does not know. But here is the question; how much did we know before we knew? Think about that for a moment. The fact that fate has sent diabetes to us, and we surely have become experts, how much did we know before it entered our lives? To be honest, in this category because it DID arrive, I would rather still suffer from being stupid than becoming the expert with all of these years of experience. That would mean both my kids did not have it.
–SIGH–
I know that ‘not knowing’ does not excuse the family members who should know better and hearing from Aunt Gertrude about how she lost her poor beloved poodle, Bubbles, to diabetes and how she knows EXACTLY what you are going through; for the millionth time, will never be ‘corrected’. But quite honestly, we need to have a tad thicker skin when these occurrences bless our lives. We really do.
For the better part of 22+ years that I have been ‘in this world’ (time surely flies when you are having fun, doesn’t it?), I have seen the understanding meter click nary a notch in all that time of people, as a whole, having any idea what we go through.
That’s okay because I do not know what they go through. This is life and everyone has something so when someone says some really stupid comment to you about growing out of it, asking how much sugar you gave them, and if it is the ‘bad’-type of diabetes; let it go. Because they will be back next week and I really doubt they will have learned a thing—–even if you tell them. Case in point, Aunt Gertrude.
Remember this, those who know—need no explanation, those who don’t—-never will. Really. Know this.
You have bigger problems that need your attention. Like watching your kids finishing off their Easter candy……..hmmmmmmm…….wait; your child has diabetes—are they even allowed to eat candy?
I am a diabetes dad.
Please visit my Diabetes Dad FB Page and hit ‘like’.