You know your kids are well adjusted when..

My daughter had a sleepover last week, not the first for sure. All the kids have had them.. and the same topic usually comes up at least once: When they go digging for snacks in teh fridge their friends ask 'What's all that stuff on the top shelf?'

Insulin pens. Lots and lots of insulin pens.

I am an insulin dependent diabetic, and over the last couple years my kids have all come to understand just what that means: Mom needs to take shots, why, and how to do it. They know how to check my sugar without my help, they know how to calibrate my pens, put everything together, and give me shots. They know what my sliding scale it, what the right blood sugar is. They know how to call 911, how to get in touch with the emergency backups, and what to do if something happens.

Somedays its a little daunting to think about the rest of my life testing and checking and injecting insulin. Well, most days. And it was a tough choice to decide to teach the kids how to handle an emergency, but it came down to two things: Either I teach them, and the can help me be healthy and get me the help I need should there be an emergency OR I can hide it from them and pretend nothing is wrong. What kind of mom would I be if I didn't show them adversity that can be dealt with, or teach them that they can handle this stuff without an emergency so that if one happens they know they can do it.

While I hate being diabetic, it gets so expensive and frustrating, I would do whatever it takes to be here and with my kids and husband. I have come a long way form being a total needle phobe to giving myself mutiple shots and sticking my fingers every single day for the rest of my life. Totally worth it though to gain days watching my babies grow up, sharing life with dh.