#DBlogWeek ’14 – Day 1 – Bueller?

OK, listen up.  This is really important to me, and I see the potential for it to become a big problem in the future. We’ve got to stop it now!

Here’s the thing: we’re talking all about diabetes advocacy and passions and stuff like that, and this passion can really suck us in. We think it’s the most important thing in the world, because it can mean the difference between living and not living.

The problem is, we get so caught up in figuring out how to live better, that we sometimes forget to live!

So here’s the message that I’m advocating today.

Diabetes should not rank any higher than your #2 priority.

Maybe it sits best at number three or four. Or maybe seven. But most definitely not Number One.

When I found myself blogging when I should have been spending time with my family, I knew that I’d gone too far.

When I read about people whose sole conversations seem to revolve around insulin units and mg/dl’s, it troubles me.

When blog after blog assigns me advocacy “homework”, it overwhelms me..

* * *

It’s springtime.  I think we need to put down our laptops and our iPads, step outside, and smell the flowers. Enjoy life. Kick a ball around the yard with the kids. Spend time alone with the wife/husband/partner/significant-other. Cut down on the so-called “screen time.”

Let the Online community go for awhile, step outside, and see what we’ve been missing.

Because I think that when we focus so hard on one particular thing, we’ve been missing out on a whole lot else.

* * *

Live.

* * *

I am proposing that, some week in the not-to-distant future, when DBlogWeek is over and our brains are fried; when no diabetes gatherings, conferences (or unConferences), or forums are going on, that we all take a week off.

No d-Blogs. No d-Tweets. No d-excom photos.

No guilt of not participating.

Just family, friends, and fun.

It really may turn out to be a respite from this thing called diabetes, and we might actually find that … liberating.

Do you think we can do that? I think it’s harder than it seems.

But I’m in. Who’s with me?

* * *

In the meantime, forgive me if I play a little hooky and blame the dog for eating my d-homework for awhile. I’ve got to stop taking things so seriously. Life’s gotta be fun.

Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.

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Today’s topic: Let’s kick off Diabetes Blog Week by talking about the diabetes causes and issues that really get us fired up. Are you passionate about 504 plans and school safety? Do diabetes misconceptions irk you? Do you fight for CGM coverage for Medicare patients, SDP funding, or test strip accuracy? Do you work hard at creating diabetes connections and bringing support? Whether or not you “formally” advocate for any cause, share the issues that are important to you.