Slipstream 2012 - Photo taken by Mike Last |
I've finally trekked back home and now that I am the only one in the house checking my blood sugar and adjusting my insulin pump and to be more specific - exploding a vial of insulin all over the kitchen counter...it's safe to say that as much as I'd love to have invited all the diabetics to join me at my house for a nice dip in the hot tub, I think this house has a limit of one diabetic.
Throughout the weekend I started to write little things down to remind me of what I was learning while I was there and most importantly what I wanted to share with the people that weren't able to make it, or found out about slipstream too late to attend (don't worry there is always 2013!) The conversations that were had at the lodge, on the trails and in the cabins all were extremely important and powerful.
Since there are a billion things I want to talk about, I am going to stretch them out a bit; rather than, talking about them all in one post. So, here is the first thing I sort of thought about: Slipstream is like New Years for Diabetics.
Everyone looks forward to New Years because it is the end and start of something. You are capping off a great year and are prepared to start a new one. Since Slipstream is annual, you revisit the photos from the last time, laughing at memories you had then and getting that little reminder taste of what inspiration you felt when you were there.
You know that once this slipstream is complete that you will be starting off new again. You were diabetic when you came there and you are leaving diabetic, but something inside you has changed. You have now set new goals for yourself to achieve and the feeling of starting fresh is well, you can sure feel it!
But, unlike those new years resolutions that always faze out, you promise that you won't forget what you felt in that room of diabetics. You promise that checking your blood sugar will not be your last priority and that nothing is impossible when it comes to finishing that race or writing that book. You are inspired and you don't want to fall out of that just like others don't want to quit their resolutions.
It truly is a buzz that you leave with. You feel like you didn't have enough time to talk to everyone that was there and hear what they had to say - but you accept that until there is some form of diabetic colony (LOL!) there just isn't enough time. You have realized that you aren't alone even though you can see this through Facebook, in person it is so much more apparent.
How nice is it that I got to have two beginnings in 2012 - all because I am diabetic.
Kayla
Great post Kayla. Not being able to get to know everyone better is the one and only thing I would change. Oh well, now I have a goal for slipstream 2013.
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