Just a quick thought for Friday...

Arden played in her first All-Star game of 2013 last night. She was 3 for 3 with three singles and two RBIs. She caught two fly balls, made two long throws to first from third base and didn't let one hit ball, of which there were many, past her at third. She is eight years old, probably the smallest girl on her team and did all of this in-between having her blood glucose tested, getting insulin and having me adjust her basal rates through a fence while countless people looked on.

After the game we drove home together and Arden started to talk to me about the game. She said that she felt bad for some of the girls because it seems like, "They feel a lot of pressure when they play". She went on to talk about how she wished they didn't feel like the game rested on their shoulders and went on to speak about how she keeps her head clear when she plays. She actually said that it's important to play relaxed.

I talk all of the time about the perspective that diabetes lends to people who live with it in their lives everyday. I always think about those lessons in terms of what they bring to me but last night in the car... I began to see the perspective that type I gives to Arden. She is fiercely competitive, to the point where I have to bolus for her adrenaline when she competes, but she doesn't feel pressure when she plays. How is that possible? She isn't nervous or overwhelmed, she doesn't get too high if they win or too low if they lose (not diabetes high and low, emotional) and she's even aware of other players feelings as the game is played.

The only answer I can come up with... Looking at your meter when it says 39 while listening to the four frantic beeps of a CGM telling you that it's time to worry about your immediate well-being, must really prepare a person to handle life's pressures.