It’s fall, and it’s glorious: foliage, football, and family. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Don’t feel like rationalizing my choice, it just is. Some say Halloween marks the start of the holiday odyssey–a sentiment I respect–but now we flip the switch. Summer’s in the rearview, winter’s on the doorstep, and diabetes is ready to reap the harvest of holiday decisions…. unless we turn the tables. What if Thanksgiving went to plan?
Let me present, The Perfect Thanksgiving (A Diabetes Journey From Dawn Till Dusk):
- 7:00 AM: Wake up to a BG of 105. Look out the window, see the crest of an autumn sunrise.
- 7:30 AM: Drink a generous cup of coffee, possibly artisinal in variety, all the while seeing no blood sugar variation.
- 8:00 AM: Get on the bike, carve up some trails, avoid any hypos, and catch a bit more of that sunshine while watching the breath. Post-bike BG of 120. The body’s primed for a big meal. I’m insulin sensitized.
- 10:00 AM: Successfully cook up a sweet potato casserole and banana bread, without sampling either, post-cooking BG of 110.
- 12:00 PM: Arrive at the grandma’s house. Give many hugs, exchange “How are you?’s” and navigate around any pre-dinner conversational topics involving Donald Trump. Avoiding cortisol-induced rapid changes in blood sugar, now ready to eat at 95.
- 1:00 PM: Take a seat at the dinner table. Everyone’s smiling, jokes are flowing, and strategically placed portion sizes and nutritional facts are situated by each dish.
- 3:30 PM: Finish up a nice walk around the block to trim back the post-dinner sugar wave, just in time to see the Cowboys game kick0ff.
- 5:00 PM: Return from a family football game, where no one reaggravates an old injury, in range, and ready for pumpkin pie… possibly two slices, at 84.
- 6:30 PM: All carbs accounted for after the pumpkin pie(s), sugars cruising along nicely, as I sit back and watch the Cowboys polish off the Redskins 35-17, at 132.
- 7:00 PM: Card games are going, I win most of them, and the everyone’s happy with the results.
- 8:00 PM: Embraces are had, jackets are found, and leftovers are boxed up.
Scratch this. Where’s the fun in that? The family football game is better when someone has to run inside for a glass of orange juice. High blood sugars make it easier to explain poor sportsmanship after losing a hand of Rummy. Conversation is better with explanations of voting practices. Why not embrace it all, seeing it as our diabetes art?
Thanksgiving will provide diabetes challenges, and we at DiabetesDailyGrind hope you make the most of the highs and lows. We’ll be rooting for you.
Cheers!