Saturday in Listowel

Tomorrow morning, at the crack of dawn, I will be two plus hours from home in a small town called Listowel.

Coffee in one hand, my laptop in the other, I will be speaking to a roomful of ladies who have also been on journeys, big and small, that eventually brought them together for a workshop called Living with Type 1 Diabetes from a Women’s Perspective.

I will be one of three speakers at this event and I get to talk about my own journey. I get to talk about my discovery of running, my love of triathlon, my refusal to say no to things just because they are scary and the strength and support I get from being part of the diabetes online community.

I get to meet new people and exchange a few laughs and probably a few tears. Perhaps even a few emails.

Even more fun is that, on my drive home, I’m taking a wee detour to meet up with a friend for coffee. She is someone I met at my last presentation in November and with whom I’ve been exchanging emails ever since. She’s relatively new to the type 1 diabetes world and I’m going to hear all about her new insulin pump and how things are going in her life.

After that I’m going to drive home, exhausted but very grateful for all the wonderful things that diabetes has given me.

Because, let’s be honest, there is not one part of Saturday that would happen if my pancreas hadn’t decided to take an early retirement. And I’m guessing Saturday is going to be a pretty amazing day.

So thank you diabetes for that.