Today is Day 8 of the Health Activists Writers Month Challenge

Today’s Challenge: If your health condition (or the health condition of a loved one) was an animal, what would it be? Is it a real animal or make-believe? 

Ok it was me. I admit it. I suggested this post to HAWMC. Sometime back in March, I received an email that I read in the middle of the night while waiting on blood sugars for my kids. In the email HAWMC invited writers to suggest prompts. I was exhausted and had already watched two episodes of The West Wing (best series ever written) and I was a bit loopy so I started typing out an email with multiple suggestions for prompts. First I didn’t think my suggestions would make it onto the list but also I didn’t have any posts in mind when I wrote the suggestions. If you like all the prompts that I suggested – great. If not – please forgive me and my loopiness.

With that being said – I didn’t have an animal in mind when I suggested this prompt. I still didn’t have one at 3am last night when I had hoped to write the post. Then, this morning, I read a post by Christel who shares her life with D HERE. It is a coincidence that she also gives me a shout out in her post – mostly I stole her idea of using a children’s book to write my post because it was a fantastic post and it made me immediately think of my Middles (my middle son – also my only child without diabetes) favorite bedtime book. I bought this book for Middles when he was 2. He is about to be 11 and it is still his favorite bedtime book.

In this short story there is a young boy who hears a noise and believes it’s a monster. He calls for his mother. His mom helps the boy recognize where various sounds and shadows are coming from – all very non-scary. The young boy asks his mom to check under the bed. The boy believes his mom is oh so very brave because the monster could get her at any time. The mom fuses at the boy for all the clutter under his bed. Then she finds (spoiler alert) a mouse.

At which point she rushes the boy out of the room and barricades the mouse in the bedroom allowing the boy to sleep with her. The boy is tremendously disappointed that the monster is a wimpy mouse and the book concludes with the boy planning to catch the mouse so his mom won’t be afraid anymore.

You see where I’m going with this right. Remember I am a parent of kids with diabetes. Before diabetes I worked hard to prove to my kids that there is nothing to fear. That everything is safe and everything has an explanation. Then came the mouse – hiding under the bed. A monster that would squeeze through the space between the bed and wall to steal their teddy bears. Don’t misunderstand – my kids know how serious diabetes is they don’t exactly think it’s a wimpy mouse. BUT – they aren’t afraid of it like I am.

There are nights that the monster mouse scares me so much that I do have them sleep with me.There are days I try to barricade diabetes into a corner but (spoiler alert) like the mouse the barricade doesn’t work and the mouse still ends up in my slippers.

All that clutter the boy’s mom pulls from under his bed that’s me with constant reminders, questions and advice regarding diabetes that I share with my kids and like the boy in the story my kids all moan and roll their eyes.

My kids are brave and smart and will catch the mouse, tame it and try to teach it tricks. Sometimes they will be successful and the mouse will play nicely, other times it won’t but my kids aren’t gonna let some wimpy mouse get the best of them.

Thanks Christel for the idea of using a story book – not that I asked first. ;P

Now go read Christel’s post about a Spotted Snake.