The Hair Elastic
Why on earth am I talking about a hair elastic?
It’s that feeling when you leave a conference and you’re with “your people” the people who may share a role you have at a different company, who you only see once a year… that feeling when you’re leaving and you know you will all leave with that same memory that only you share together. Those are connections.
It has nothing to with a hair elastic, and it has everything to do with connection. As I looked down at my wrist when I got into the car at the airport on my way to the Mom’s Night Out event I had been prepping for months for, I realized that I had “forgotten something” on my mental list before rushing out the door to catch my flight. A frequently sported accessory wasn’t there. I thought I’d just grab a pack at the airport or find a local store by the hotel. Hair ties.
“Oh you can have mine, as long as you don’t mind dog hair.” Stacey Simms who organized the entire program said to me about 5 mins after I got into her car.
It was the beginning of feeling connected for the next 24 hours and I’m still using that same hair elastic and I will until it feels too stretched out to hold my hair the way I’d like it to. (no judgment). But why does it hold so much significance?
It means so much because the hair elastic will forever remind me of the amazing connections that were made. A mom’s night out. There was laughter (think 75 mom’s frantically checking their phones with the “beeeep beeeep” Dexcom “high alert” during the middle of dinner), and tears of realization that they are not alone along this never ending journey through the challenging job of keeping their children alive and thriving, all while balancing their own emotions.
Some families were diagnosed just months ago, others decades. The bond never ends. This neutral colored hair elastic is bonded to me. I was honored to speak at this event on Saturday and offered “sanity check ins” for 10 lucky mamas to chat with me; a quick opportunity to vent/chat/get some “hold me over” tips until their next therapy session or kiddos endo appt.
My biggest take home message to these moms was that diabetes is always going to be hard, end of story. There is nothing we can do to change that. AND we have everything in our power to change the fact that we do not have to walk through this T1D journey alone. I shared a bit of my story, that it took decades for me to start actually thinking about the impact of my decisions on my own self care around diabetes related tasks. Sure I pricked my finger just like I tie my shoes in the morning, but did I stop and think about what it means to eat and not bolus until I was 25…nope.
I was so proud of all of these moms for taking a big risk. For some the first time away from their kiddos, ever with type 1. Proud of them for giving themselves the space to find space to learn, decompress. We all need it.
I know there will be more of these programs, but to learn more about it now, including more highlights, check it out here. Moms need it. Moms need to know that they’re not the only ones who are up at 2am waiting for the arrow to go up, not the only ones on hold for an hour with Dexcom or or an insurance company hoping the next shipment of supplies arrives on time before an upcoming trip, and certainly not the only ones who love their children more than anything and would do anything to take diabetes away from them. The bond is invisible, the connection is magical.
Connections are so important. This event defined that times a million.
AND if you missed seeing me in NC I’ll be at the JDRF Type One Nation Summit in Boston, MA in March-come find me and let’s form a connection :).
