Sixes and Sevens

Six from '06:

1. Jake wrapped up third grade beautifully, with solid grades, excellent S.O.L. scores, and an enthusiasm for history and social studies that warms my liberal arts heart. His baseball team won their big championship game. He scared the crap out of me - but survived, unharmed - a runaway kayak on Lake Willoughby. His first pinewood derby car finished second-to-last in the pack Derby but his refurbished second car took third place at the District Derby. He is sweet and smart and kind and makes me proud to be his mom nearly every single day (when he's not driving me up a wall with his pre-pre-teen ways!)

2. Ryan finally named his price to become fully potty trained (a spiderman costume. Who knew.) He learned to write his name, though he does think that R-Y-A-N spells his first, middle, and last name. Over the summer, he changed from baby to little boy. He married and broke up with three of his playmates, leaving them behind because they were mean to him (this gives me great hope for the future.) His sense of humor and love of music delight me. His mischevious nature and stubbornness both amuse and frustrate me.

3. John, about whom I rarely brag, received the top sales award given by his employer. He is a born salesman. A friend of mine once commented that John could sell chocolate to a diabetic (John has had type 1 for 38 years and used to work for Hershey). John also gracefully coached Jake's baseball team to victory, weathering the ups and downs of coaching your own kid.

4. My diabetes benefitted from the arrival of my purple Cozmo and technology which relieved the burden of poor math skills. I switched endos and learned that extraordinary endos may be few and far between, but an endo that is available after 4:30 pm and is enthusiastic about using all available tools might just be a good fit for me. Recent news of research which comes at diabetes from a different angle caught my eye and once again made me wish I was a mouse, if only for a moment.

5. My book was published in May and distributed by Bayer over the summer. I travelled to the ADA and AADE conferences and had the pleasure of speaking with hundreds of diabetes health care providers about the book and the Dream Fund. Bayer threw some pretty terrific PR resources behind the book, sponsoring a radio tour and satellite TV interviews. I delighted in the positive reviews posted on Amazon, Children with Diabetes, and the occasional random newspaper. Supportive comments left here by blog readers, along with a nomination for best non-blog resource, meant the world to me. And to cap it all off, I spotted the book on the shelf of my local Borders, and have since received reports of book sightings from Rhode Island to Oregon.

6. June, 2006, marked the 20th anniversary of my diagnosis with diabetes, giving me a chance to reflect upon my life with diabetes so far. I'd still choose life without diabetes, were that possible, but I continue to be thankful for the silver linings of life as a PWD.

Seven for '07:

1. I'm giving CGMS a try, with the goal of lowering my A1c to a more respectable number. Details and updates to follow.

2. Jake and I are travelling to Rome for a week in April. We'll be touring the city with my parents. This will be my second overseas trip, but I was a tad more carefree the first time around. Travelling with diabetes - and a 10 year old - should be interesting. But seeing Rome with my son will be fantastic.

3. Ryan will be entering kindergarten in the fall. I'm already verklempt about it.

4. My parent's house, where they've lived for 30+ years, and where I grew up, may very well sell this year, forcing me to deal with the fact that Flourtown will no longer be 'home base.' Expect an overly dramatic post when and if that happens!

5. Jake will finish fourth grade and enter fifth, ruling the school and inching ever closer to teendom. In April, I will become the mother of a Ten Year Old child. 10. Double digits. Oy.

6. I may successfully resolve my billing issue with Medtronic. I may also learn how to fly. Stay tuned.

7. My only real resolution this year is to keep writing, and to expand my writing beyond the diabetes world. I hope, by '08, to have a legitimate answer to the question people have asked me for the last six months, "so, what's you're *next* book about?"

Best wishes for a Happy New Year, and thank you for reading!