Diabetes Blog – Happy-Medium.net

So here we are. Or here I am, staring at another birthday (52) and another blog anniversary. By the way, my great niece, also born at this time two years ago, is doing great and laughs a lot and looooves Elmo.

I really like writing in this space. I don’t see myself giving this up for a while yet, though the thought enters my mind briefly now and then. If I didn’t write about my diabetes, I’d definitely probably find something else to write about anyway. Baseball, perhaps. Of course, my Cincinnati Reds are off to another lousy start (the games do count in April, fellas), with two wins against six losses. My other favorite team, the Baltimore Orioles, have a record of 3-5. Honestly, I’m worried less about the O’s at this point than I am about the Reds, who didn’t improve their roster one iota in the offseason, yet expect better results than last year. Good luck with that, Cincinnati. But I digress…

Two years ago today I published my first post at Happy-Medium.net. Since then, there have been 360 additional offerings. Holey Moley, that’s nearly one every other day! If you asked me if I could write like that two years ago, I’d say yes… I can write about anything. But I wouldn’t have guessed that the subjects here would be so varied.

At the two year mark, there’s one thing that worries me more than anything else. I must get two or three e-mails per week nowadays from individuals or organizations that are looking to spread their message. Whether they’re promoting upcoming events, pitching a product, or have a cause near and dear to their heart, they ask me to say something about it. I almost always say yes to the individuals, and sometimes say yes to the organizations.

But here’s the thing: I worry that telling someone else’s story so much leaves little time for telling my own. I want to remain a strong supporter. I’m good at that. But part of my mission for this blog is to leave a written record of what it’s really like to live in my shoes on an ongoing basis. Selfish? You bet. It’s my blog. There are times when two or more competing interests come together in this space, and that’s wonderful, but there are times when they don’t. When I go back and read three weeks of posts and realize I barely touched on how diabetes affects me personally, I realize I’m losing Stephen in the process. Stephen doesn’t need all of the attention, but he deserves a mention now and then (how’s that for third person?).

Returning to telling my story a little more often is a goal I’ll carry forward.

Looking back at the last twelve months, I can see lots of themes… some recurring, others standing on their own. Among them, just in the past year:

– Clinical trial participation

– Athlete with diabetes? You deserve an award (we’ve awarded nine medals since November!)

– Diabetes University

– Show me how big your brave is, and why I have four glucose meters now

– What I learned at a conference on interoperability, and at the Manning Diabetes Symposium

– Five recipes

This is definitely more varied and more detailed than I thought I could handle when I started this thing. What’s really weird is that I have the feeling I’m capable of handling a lot more. So if I have any detractors, I’m sorry to disappoint you. Actually, I’m not. I’m going to keep writing for a while.

I would be remiss if I didn’t say thank you to… You. Without your feedback, I could still write… but it wouldn’t be nearly as fun, and I certainly wouldn’t have learned as much as I have. I still want to jump out of my seat when I see a comment for the first time, and I thank you for helping to keep my head straight, while at the same time feeding my ego. I hope the next year brings you peace and happiness, and a cure for diabetes. In the meantime, I’ll have a slice of birthday pie (it’s a thing for me) in your honor.

Thank you so much for a great year. Here’s to an interesting, inspirational, and fun year three!