I'm looking at almond butter when they round the corner and head down the aisle. Two cute college-age girls, laughing and talking. They stop near me and from the way they begin picking items up and reading and discussing the nutrition information, I guess that they are working on some kind of project. My ears perk up when they start talking about gluten.
"This gluten-free stuff has so many carbs," says one.
"It doesn't matter; I don't have to count carbs," says the other.
"Oh my god, can you imagine if you had to eat this gluten-free stuff and had, like diabetes or something and had to count carbs all the time? God, that would suck so bad."
They both laugh. Not cruelly, but just in that way that you do sometimes when you are young and imagining something that would indeed suck so bad, something that you, thankfully, don't currently have to worry about.
I feel like all the air has been sucked out of me.
I've reached that point in life where I don't as often look at college-age people and remember myself at that age. Instead, I imagine my children at that age. I look at those beautiful, carefree girls and think of Olivia. I wonder how things will be for her as she gets older and is that pre-teen, teenager, college student for whom things "suck so bad."
Will she be depressed? Will she be strong? Will she have friends who support her or will her peers give her a hard time? Will she be healthy and do her best to make the "right" choices? Will she rebel and not care for herself as she should?
I suppose that the best guess is "yes, all that and more."
"This gluten-free stuff has so many carbs," says one.
"It doesn't matter; I don't have to count carbs," says the other.
"Oh my god, can you imagine if you had to eat this gluten-free stuff and had, like diabetes or something and had to count carbs all the time? God, that would suck so bad."
They both laugh. Not cruelly, but just in that way that you do sometimes when you are young and imagining something that would indeed suck so bad, something that you, thankfully, don't currently have to worry about.
I feel like all the air has been sucked out of me.
I've reached that point in life where I don't as often look at college-age people and remember myself at that age. Instead, I imagine my children at that age. I look at those beautiful, carefree girls and think of Olivia. I wonder how things will be for her as she gets older and is that pre-teen, teenager, college student for whom things "suck so bad."
Will she be depressed? Will she be strong? Will she have friends who support her or will her peers give her a hard time? Will she be healthy and do her best to make the "right" choices? Will she rebel and not care for herself as she should?
I suppose that the best guess is "yes, all that and more."
posted by Paige at 10:35 AM
9 Comments:
she will be fearless, something she's learning from you. she will be grateful for her artificial pancreas and will barely notice her gluten free diet. she will be, as you show her every day, strong.
And she will be healthy! An upside to eating a gluten free diet and counting carbs is she will be eating a very healthy diet, rich in nutrients. She'll likely be lean and very energetic.
Also, from my informal survey, she may be sassy. Seriously, the adults I know with Type 1 all seem to be a bit sassy. And I LOVE that! I think it is a great survival/life skill.
--Stellasmom
When I started to read this, I thought you were thinking of those girls in relation to yourself…what you have to deal with compared to your relatively free youthful days. I imagine Olivia is going to selectively teach friends and classmates over the years. She'll find supportive best friends. Girls are good at that. Try not to worry about that rebellious streak. Not everything is genetic. :)
i came acrossed your blog and read with interest... i also have a diabetic daughter age 6.
Of course she'll be strong. You're her mother.
My baby sis' (now 40!) has lived all her life with type 1 diabetes. She is a teacher, mother of two healthy babies, and an awesome wife. The girl is fearless, just as I suspect your girl will turn out to be, too!
I share your fears. I often think of what the future will hold for my Isabelle. I loved the other comments!
i would love to join your blog but cant figure out how to do it. my sweet daughter in law cannot do gluten (I can never remember how to spell celiac but maybe that is right, She is a diabetic and wears a pump so I read labels religiously, they live in California and my grandson also has the beginnings of celiac so everyone follows gluten free and i think are healthier, Anyway i read your articles with great interest, I am new to this blogging thing and still am trying to figure out how to make a really nice page. I just use what I got when I asked how to do a blog,
She will be fine, it will be normal, and she will find more and more people with, if not her dietary restrictions, similiar challenges. I know one diabetic/celiac and a celiac/lactose intolerant at the moment. Thankfully, people and manufacturers are becoming more aware. I know I sure am.
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