The Walk brings about so many feelings, six years into diabetes. The newness has worn off. The daily grind has set in. Puberty has set in, and she's growing up. I am weary at times. And so is she. I look up at the sun and it feels so warm, but the wind whips my face. How fitting. The community I am in, standing among 10,000 walkers, warms me to no end. The daily grind is my wind.
She is thrilled that her BFF from diabetes camp, who lives no less than five minutes from our house at home, is here at the Walk. They hug and they tell each other they love each other. And part of me is so happy for her, to have someone she loves, with diabetes, so close to her. And I think at the same time, damn it, yet another kid. It's the yin and the yang of diabetes. Am I glad she's had it because it makes her who she is? And in the next breath I curse the very day she got it.
And we walk. We walk down the road by the river in my city. It's glorious, the sight of all these families, all these kids, supporting each other. The t-shirt slogans are funny, truthful, and make me smile. We find humor in this damn situation. There isn't one family I see during this walk having pity on their kids. They all say 'Look around you, there's a kid with diabetes just like you. Look, another one. Look, she's older and she's here. Look at her pump. Rock that Dex!' And isn't that something? In the midst of all the life altering it brings, we come together and say it's alright, cause we have each other. It fills the gas tank to go another 1,000 miles.
As we end the walk, the JDRF leaders and volunteers all ring cowbells. And we cheer as we come across the finish line. We made it, one more year.
JDRF Walk 2011
JDRF Walk 2010
