Diabetes Blog – Happy-Medium.net

You may have noticed that this is still Diabetes Awareness Month. You may have also noticed that I haven’t exactly been blowing up social media with post after diabetes post.

There are a number of reasons for that.

I’m beginning to wind down a very busy year. I do have a few extra days off the next six weeks. But I’ve already spent more than half of my days off from work this year actually working on diabetes advocacy, and I don’t exactly want to spend a lot of my remaining days off working on something that could easily seem like a second job if I let it.

Plus, there are more than enough voices, loud voices, shouting into the air all through November. I don’t mind that at all. Also, I don’t feel the need to compete with those voices. In addition, I don’t feel the need to raise my voice and make it louder just because it’s November.

Part of my success, and part of my sanity, involves remembering that my voice is just the right size already. I’ll make it louder when necessary. But I tend to see “necessary” on a moment-by-moment basis, rather than as a scheduled month-long advocacy extravaganza.

So, at the end of a five day weekend, I can look back at about a half dozen fix-it projects completed around the house. A little extra time in the kitchen cooking. A whole lot of time listening to music. You know… the boring stuff.

Here’s the thing: the boring stuff is important to my diabetes, and to my overall health too. I like being useful, getting my hands dirty now and then. I like to be creative in the kitchen. It’s also important to take the time to be still, allowing myself to consider some of the things I haven’t paid much attention to in the past several months.

So there you have it… my “I’m glad for Diabetes Awareness Month, but I’m also over it” post. The truth is, we need Diabetes Awareness Month and World Diabetes Day. But we also need diabetes efforts throughout the year, in front of medical professionals, on Capitol Hill, in the classroom, in the workplace, from voices everywhere.

There’s room, and a time, for all of those voices, whatever size they may be.