I have incredibly fond memories of this time of year… right before school reopened. In my youth, it was those last summer nights staying out late in the neighborhood, my Dad’s back-to-school ice cream sundae tradition, BBQs, and of course, the WONDERFUL Jerry Lewis Telethon. Later, when I became a parent, it was re-living those same sundaes with our kids, and one final weekend at Whaley Lake, where Jill’s family had a summer home forever. Great times.
Then life changed. The joy of back-to-school became filled with a new kind of anxiety when our daughter, newly diagnosed with diabetes, was preparing to start school again. I’ve shared before (read here) about one of the worst things that can happen on day one, and how that fear could have grown each year afterward. But we decided to take a different course.
Unless you’ve worked out something unique, for most of the day your child will be at school. That means a forced separation between parent and child, and for us, that became the biggest lesson of all: learning to cope apart. We began small, on weekends before school started. When she wasn’t feeling well, we’d ask her, “Do you think you’re high or low?” We would check her blood sugar and, over time, her guesses grew accurate. She learned that highs and lows could be treated, that she didn’t need to come home from school every time, and soon, she believed she could get through it until she felt herself again.
Eventually, the focus shifted to preventing those highs and lows from happening in the first place. Each school day became a teachable moment for her and for us. What we didn’t realize at first was that in these little steps, she was beginning to own her diabetes, while we slowly stepped back.
Before long, she was managing herself better than we ever could. That ownership became empowerment. Sure, we may fail what feels like a million times a day to understand this disease. But those “millions” shrink over time to hundreds of thousands, then thousands, until eventually there’s a sense of control. At least, as much control as anyone can have over this monster.
So if your child is heading back to school, embrace this time as a chance to teach lessons for your child, and for yourself. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: if you don’t control diabetes, it will surely control you. Taking these steps now can help you both in your journey.
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Tagged: diabetes, diabetes dad, diabetes inspiration