"How Is Diabetes...?"

Hey! (I don't think I've ever started a blog post with "Hey!" but after three days offline, it feels like the right thing to do!) I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and weren't too affected by the storms! Mine was great: my family, good food, gifts, games and a bit too much to drink! 

Christmas is generally a time to see family and friends, which is lovely. Apart from my immediate family, I don't see the rest of my family unless it's an occasion, like Christmas or a birthday. Because of this, as you would expect, there are a lot of questions: "How are you?...How's uni going?...Got a boyfriend yet?...What are your plans for after uni?...How's diabetes?..."

How's diabetes?

I get that what they're trying to ask is "how are you getting on with diabetes?" but, still, I'm never really sure how to answer, which I know is a result of different perspectives. Let me explain.

I've been living with diabetes for almost four years now. I'm no longer new to this game of balancing blood sugars. But my family only witness these snapshots of diabetes when I'm home. I forget that living with diabetes is my normal, but it's not theirs. When I do a blood sugar test it's "Oh yeah...how is all that going?" It's a forgotten entity to them until they witness those "diabetes moments" - the blood sugar testing, the shooting up insulin - the rest of the time, it's forgotten. When it is remembered, it's still new to them. And it can get frustrating at times, especially when they try to tell me what's what, but it's still new to them. 

I need to remember that, even after the tenth time of being asked!