This is not just my diabetes...

    You are an amazing wife, mother, and friend.  You hold this family together.  You clean, fix, schedule, reschedule, wipe tears and noses, chauffeur, listen, and worry.  You have to experience every high, low, good day, bad day, bad mood, anti-social moment, short tempered outburst, and burn out I have in your own way.  You do your best to understand what I am going through even if you can't be in my shoes.  On the day I was diagnosed, your life changed as well.  When I become depressed, you have to deal with it too.  When I have a good day, I hope it helps you have a better day, but unfortunately when I have a bad day, I know it makes yours worse as well.  When I was re diagnosed, your life changed again right along with me.  You listened to my fears and had your own.  You were there to listen even if I didn't want to talk.  Every step of the way when this disease effects me it effects you too, so in a way this is your diabetes too.

    You are an amazing young boy.  You are growing up so fast, right before my eyes.  When you learned that I shouldn't have sugar you helped remind me.  You are interested in my medicine and every step I take to manage things.  When I am grumpy, down, irritable, or tired it effects you.  You feel for me on my rough days and help bring me out of the funk.  Sometimes you drive me crazy but I know you don't do it on purpose.  You have an incredible sense of who you are and I am so proud of you.  Even though you don't understand how all of this effects you, this is your diabetes too.

    You are my pretty little angel.  My booger, my stink pot, my cuddle-bug.  You are too little to understand how this effects you but it does.  On the days when I don't have a lot of patience, it effects you.  On the days when I am burned out, tired, and can't motivate myself off the couch, it effects you.  But you effect me as well.  When you poke your head around and the corner and smile, the clouds part a little.  When climb into my lap and cuddle up, the day brightens.  Someday you will see all of this for yourself, this is your diabetes too.

  We are all in this together.  Everything that happens to me, effects all four of us.  This is not MY diabetes, this is OUR diabetes.  Having the three of you to experience this with means more than any of you know.