Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Week Twenty-two Mishmash

Laziness? Nah.

Busyness? Sure.

I just haven't had it in me to blog recently, which makes me think I'm never going to win any OC award because I haven't given anyone enough new content to consider.

But honestly, sometimes I read people's posts about, I don't know, testing their blood sugars, or having a low or a high, or where they wore their pump today, and I think, "That's what people want to write? And more importantly, that's what people want to read?"

I just react to these events, which happen to me daily, and move on. I honestly don't think they're much to write about. I mean, my hypoglycemia unawareness is pretty fierce right now, but becuase I'm testing constantly, it doesn't surprise me when I start driving and see I'm 70 or 54. I just grab a few LifeSavers and keep going and the sugars always go up.

Instead, I think about how obsessive I was trying to pick health insurance for next year. How I quiz and question every rep that comes to my office, or who drops off marketing material at Mr. Lyrehca's office. And I don't really bemoan the rising costs of it all. I just accept it for what it is, and know that without it, I'd have no money at all to maintain anything.

Sort of similar to the cost of all the infertility treamtent over the past year: we agonized over it, did what we had to do to minimize the costs as best we could, signed up for a second insurance to cover a portion of what the primary insurance didn't cover, and just pay the bills, bit by bit, months later.

I mean, is that even worth blogging about?

My blase-ness even extends over to last week's big news about curing type 1 diabetes in mice. While I've seen hopeful posts and excited comments from people all over the diabetes blogosphere, I'm with some of the type 1s I've read who say, "I'll believe it when I see it in effective human trials." I mean, twenty-nine years of type 1 will do that to you.

In the meantime, I continue to take more insulin than I ever have before to maintain relatively good blood sugars, and my belly and uterus continue to expand. I'm 22 weeks today and while I wonder if the occaisional aches and gas pains I feel are really the movement of a healthy fetus, I know the kid is growing because I get bigger every damn day. A shirt I wore two weeks ago looked really bad this weekend when I attempted to wear it again.

What else? We started to look at day cares today, which is surreal when the student-in-question is still in utero. And yet, to guarantee a space for next fall, now's the time to check places out. It's all still up in the air about what I'll end up doing, but at least we're seeing what it's like at these day cares and what the costs are and how I might be able to swing working from home without my endless commutes and long hours of my current staff job.

And in totally unrelated news, I'm doing a ton of freelance work. I stayed home from my day job today to check out the day care centers, and ended up doing some freelance from home this morning and got emails from editors about picking up some other potential assignments. This is the sort of thing that thrills me--that people know I'm good at the kind of work I do and seek me out for freelance work.

10 comments:

Scott K. Johnson said...

I think that it is GREAT that people recognize your skills and seek you out for that freelance work. Stuff like that has got to make you feel good!

On the blogging stuff - I often feel that it's not just the numbers, or the figures, but rather the situations around those things. They can sometimes present interesting stories, and I think those are valuable for folks who are newly diagnosed, or for people feeling isolated (so they know they are not the only ones dealing with such things).

But I also feel that it is the person blogging that should just post whatever THEY feel like writing about. Isn't it more about just writing what you feel?

I do really enjoy your story - the experiences you are going through with your diabetes and the pregnancy (and all that it involves). You also have a very entertaining style of writing, which makes it all just a pleasure to read.

So, I say - post about whatever you feel. If your thing is not numbers or lows or highs, don't worry about it. There's plenty of us that will fill in that space for you!

:-)

Anonymous said...

Not a lot of inspiration these days, even with the "big news".

I would have more to blog about if I could blog about some stuff, but I can't, so I won't.

Glad that everything is still going well. Thinking about you quite a bit.

Kevin said...

Ditto what Scott said.

(my response would not have been nearly as articulate, though).

And I'm very happy that you're getting recognition for your skills with free lance gigs. That's awesome.

Anonymous said...

Wow 22 weeks! Random question... Do you have an anterior placenta? Could be why you aren't definitely sure what you feel is movement.

Anyway... everyone gets in a blog rut. And I think the highs/lows/testing posts are just kind of cathartic (sp?) to the blogger. We constantly have to think about this stuff so sometimes dumping it into the blog can help free the mind.

And congrats on the freelance stuff! It's nice to have that on the burner when you have to make decisions about whether or not to do daycare, telecommute, how to afford a maternity leave etc...

Anonymous said...

Wow 22 weeks! Random question... Do you have an anterior placenta? Could be why you aren't definitely sure what you feel is movement.

Anyway... everyone gets in a blog rut. And I think the highs/lows/testing posts are just kind of cathartic (sp?) to the blogger. We constantly have to think about this stuff so sometimes dumping it into the blog can help free the mind.

And congrats on the freelance stuff! It's nice to have that on the burner when you have to make decisions about whether or not to do daycare, telecommute, how to afford a maternity leave etc...

Anonymous said...

I'm with you in that I don't find it worth blogging about day to day diabetes stuff...it mostly doesn't even really occur to me to blog about certain things that happen.

And I am happy to inform you that those gas bubbles are indeed the baby kicking around :) That's pretty much what they feel like at about 22 weeks.

Anonymous said...

Blogging can be hard when you consider that others will be reading! Sometimes I worry that the details of my life may be boring, but then no one is forced to read it!

Congratulations on making it to 22 weeks with ample signs of growth!

Good luck with everything!

Kerri. said...

I agree with Scott, almost entirely. Post about whatever you feel. For me, I'm sure it looks like I'm frantic about diabetes every 15 1/2 seconds, but in reality, I'm blogging a few times a week and moving on. I roll with the d-punches, like you described. But the blog I write is mostly diabetes-centralized, so posting about the day-to-day is part of the gig. :)

And a huge congratulations on the freelance work!!

By the way - and I say this in almost every single freaking comment, but it's true - I love reading about your pregnancy. It makes me smile every time.

Anonymous said...

OMG, looking at day care centers! That must be crazy, but good for you for getting a jump on it.

And congrats about the freelance work, it's nice to have options :-)

Anonymous said...

We're at exactly the same stage, so I enjoy reading what you're up to even if you worry it's not exciting. :) And I agree with whoever said that the gas bubbles are not gas, but your baby. My little guy definitely has certain times of the day when he's more active - have you been noticing that as well?

And a big congratulations on the freelance work. It's so nice to be recognized for your talents!