Diabetes Blog Week Day Seven: Continuing Connections

The very first inspiration for Diabetes Blog Week was to help connect our blogging community, and that continues to be the most important reason it's held every year.  So let's help foster and continue those connections as we wrap up another Dblog Week.  Share a link to a new blog you've found or a new friend you've made.  Or pick a random blog off of the Participant's List, check it out and share it with us.  Let's take some time today to make new friends. Read all responses here.

The two best reasons to write are for yourself and for others. If you only write for adulation, you never reach truth. If you only write for yourself, you can risk self-indulgence or have your head become an echo chamber. It’s the words that come from you and contain the possibility of connection with others that, at least in my mind, lead to real success and purpose.

I’ve read nearly all the blog posts for this week (I have a little catching up to do from yesterday). Anything that wasn’t on YouTube or in a language that I’m not very good at (anything other than English or French) was read. I think that’s important. If we can read others’ posts, particularly during this week, we should, to increase community solidarity, encourage those who don’t have popular or long-standing blogs, and to broaden our horizons. Even if the experiences resonate a bit less, I think this week is the ideal time to read blogs from people not your “type,” or without your experiences. If you’re Type 1, read blogs from Type 2s, and vice versa. If you have insurance, read blogs from those who aren’t. Read blogs from outside your country, from outside your age group. Pumpers, read MDI blogs. Gluten aficionados, read gluten-free blogs. Low carbers, read carb-loving blogs. It’s great to read blogs that echo our own experience (you are not alone), but it’s also great to remember that YDMV – your diabetes may vary – by seeing how diverse our lives are around the common experiences we have. You might even pick up some tips, or inspiration, from how others lead their lives!

I’d like to thank everyone who commented on my blog this week. I’m great at reading blogs, but have a harder time leaving a lot of comments. This is too bad, because other than the statistics page, without a comment, a writer doesn’t know if his or her writing has had any impact. A nice comment makes my day, and I know it does for others. There are some people, like Kelley, who are absolute commenting rock stars, spreading cheer through the community by finding something to say about seemingly almost everything they read. That’s really lovely, and I really appreciate it.

Here are some posts that had an impact on me this week:

Laddie and I went to the same small undergrad (a few years apart) and while I hope I’ll run into her at Reunions some day, I always love what she has to say at Test, Guess and Go. This week, she inspired me to at some point actually get my vegetable noodle maker (spiralizer) out of its box, where it’s been since I received it at my bridal shower, and do something with it.

Alecia at SurfaceFine wrote two very moving posts: I was left almost speechless at her story of a particularly cruel date, and cheered for her when I read “No Changes”.

I loved the meme and discussion about the must frustrating of words, “controlled,” at T1 and Gluten Free. (Mindy Lahiri says, “Gluten is my favourite food,” and I’m inclined to agree with her, but that doesn’t mean I can’t respect and learn a lot from someone who doesn’t eat it!)

George at Ninjabetic provided me with a great response to a “what’s it supposed to be?” question, re: the number on my meter. “It’s supposed to be I don’t have diabetes!” might be the perfect retort. I almost can’t wait for someone to ask me the previously-irritating question.

You should read all of Heather’s blog, Unexpected Blues, because it’s elegant and lovely.

Finally, Marie’s blog post for “I Can” at Joy Benchmarks is basically the perfect argument for the existence of D-Blog Week: it lets us belong to a community, lets us be accepted, helps our puzzle piece fit with hundreds of others that, for the first time, interlock with our own.

Thank you for letting me be a part of this wonderful community. Thank you for reading, and writing, and just being. Thank you for documenting the ups and downs of the ins and outs of this disease.

They say history is written by the winners. I say those who write history, win. We’re all winners here.

Until next time.