And...

I'm back!
From camp!
Again!

And it was so much fun!

The camp was pretty much in my backyard (well, it was only ten minutes down the road), so exploring localness was pretty awesome. I saw the underside of the bridge I've been driving over for fifteen years and saw a part of this island that I've never, ever seen before.

I made a whole new set of friends who live close enough that we can actually hang out, which is really sweet, considering until now I only knew one diabetic close enough to chill with. So guys (pointed look at all of you, especially M and K), we WILL hang out, 'kay?

The thing I love about diabetes camps is the teamwork. It's understanding the inside jokes, sharing glucose tablets (went with 54, came back with 14 while I only ate about 5), helping to judge insulin doses, and having everybody understand completely and totally, no questions asked. It's about making sure your friend is okay after being 1.9 and eating a dozen of your Dex. It's testing in a cave, shouting out carb counts, and eating strange things to bring up your sugar. It's having everyone understand how you feel when you're low and having others wish they were low so they could have your tropical fruit glucose. There's so much to love about diabetes camp, so much that if I listed it all we'd be here forever.

Thanks so much to I Challenge Diabetes and Power To Be for providing this opportunity - check them out here and here. Thanks to all the leaders who donated their time and skills to us so that we could have simple fun with less worry.

Thanks to M, M, M, M, D, K, B and O for being instant, awesome friends. I'll miss all of you and we better not lose touch. :)

Here we go again!

I'm off to camp again tomorrow.
It's local, and diabetic, and should be a lot of fun. Not to mention I'll be seeing one of my closest camp friends. :)

I shall once again have no internet, this time only for five days. So don't expect any posts for the next little while. ;)

And my camp bestie (I'm sure by now you've all heard me talk about Z - she's the one with the matching shirt) now has a blog: www.proud2bemoi.blogspot.com

She's Simply Complicated and Simply Awesome. Go check her out. :)

Independence!

Today I took the bus completely by myself. (It's exciting, okay?) I've been using the transit system more and more recently, but I've always had at least one friend with me. Today - nope.

AND IT WAS AWESOME.

It made me feel really independent and strong, like I could do anything, like no goals will ever be unreachable.

But then there was the awkward moment when you get on the bus alone, feeling all powerful and stuff, and you head to the back to sit - and your feet don't touch the ground.

Well, at least I got off at the right place this time.

So much love.

I'm back from camp. I had SOO much fun, made a lot of friends, and billions of memories. And apart from some harsh sunburns which made some akward tan lines, a few mosquito bites, sore feet, a blister on my finger and some bruised fingertips (the camp lancets are harsh, man!), I'm nothing but happy.

I learned a few things while I was there. (Apart from the actual diabetes-related stuff. Psh, who needs diabetes? Oh, and insulin - what's so important about that?)


You never know true happiness until you look back and realise those weeks may have been the best of your life.

You never know true sadness until 'your blood sugar is high (23.2) and you drop your cookie on the floor.' In my case, it was when my friend was high and I dropped the last bite of my sandwich. That right there is depressing.

You never know true peace until you're sitting with your best friends listening to your favouritest story and it's the last day of camp and even though you're sad, you're ready to face normalness again.

You never know true frustration until your friends are sick and you're helpless, you can't fix it. Or until someone tries to treat diabetes as a math. Or until your pump clip breaks and your pump proceeds to hit the ground twice in the next hour and you can't get a new clip until who knows when. :(

You never know true fear until you're being told a true(ish)¸ ghost story in the very spot where it takes place and everyone around you is trembling (and dressed in black) and then you hear thumping from the [supposedly] empty attic. And then everyone bolts out of there and later it's actually really funny.

You never know true victory until you win a blood sugar competition by 0.3.

You never know true laughter until your friend spews potatoes everywhere because you're all laughing so much you can't breathe. Or until your counselor makes the funniest faces you've ever seen. Or until everyone in your cabin is low exactly when you all took measures to prevent it. Or until a dead crab comes along. 'Hello, Mr. Crab! How are you today? Dead? Oh, very good!' There was a lot of true laughter at camp.

You never know how to appreciate running water, soap and toilets until you've been without them for three days.

You never know true confusion until your counselor wakes you up, tells you it's 6:30 in the morning and then comes back from the bathroom and says 'Just kidding, it's only 5. Oops.'

You never know true friendship until you meet sixteen people who you know you could tell anything even though you've only known them for two weeks.

You never know how much everything matters until it's gone.


Everybody who ran camp - thanks for creating a second home. :)
M, J, J and W - thanks for being such awesome counselors.
Z (Shakespeare!), M (we set a place for you at dinner </3), A (awesome canoe partner), EP (loved the jam sessions), EC (you're an awesome hugger), KH (I think I'll see you soon!), KA (we missed you!), SL (stay sweet, 'kay?), KaH (I hope the trip home isn't too long!), SiP (Tiki master - the crab shall RIP), H (good job on the rubiks cube), G (remember your sunscreen), D (don't drink too much more juice), J (you photobomber, you), SP and N (You're so sassy) - thanks for being such awesome cabinmates and such unforgettable friends. Thanks for all the memories. And the warm and fuzzies. <3

I love and miss you all soooo much.