Category: personal

27 Acts of Kindness: Days 17 and 18

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Howdy, Cactus Huggers!

Earlier this week, I expressed that I was feeling a little burnt out, and hoped that the week would get better as it went on.

And I’m happy to say that it did.

The acts of kindness from the last couple of days are especially unique, because I’m not sure whether I’d be able to do them if we weren’t experiencing a time of social distancing right now. This will probably make more sense as I explain exactly what they were…

Wednesday, 4/22 – Act of Kindness #17: A few days ago, I saw the sweetest video that moved me to tears: An elderly man living in a nursing facility was gifted a pillow from a nurse with his deceased wife’s picture on it to replace the photo of her that he sleeps with every night. It is simultaneously heartbreaking and heartwarming, but mostly it’s just an incredibly lovely act of kindness that the caretaker did for her resident during these challenging times. (Watch the video here.)

This video, coupled with thoughts of my own grandmother who spent the last several years of her life battling Alzheimer’s in a nursing home, prompted me to wonder about how the elderly in nursing homes and assisted living facilities are handling the current state of things. I can’t imagine it’s easy. We hear news almost daily about different facilities that are directly affected, and I’ve seen and read a number of stories about residents who are sorely missing their loved ones who are unable to visit them at the present moment.

It’s got to be incredibly difficult and painful.

So I wanted to research ways I could help someone, anyone, who is living in one of these facilities and who might need a pick-me-up. I came across this link, which supplied a list of facilities in the country that are accepting letters, cards, and drawings for their residents.

But I wanted to do something more.

On that same web page, I saw the link to www.carenotcovid.com. I learned that I could film a 30-seconds-or-less video that The American Health Care Association and the National Center for Assisted Living will show to nursing home and assisted living residents across the country in order to give them support and hope. An excellent idea, right? It took me fewer than 60 seconds to make my video, upload it, and share it on Twitter. In addition, I made an Instagram story so my followers could see some of the ways they can help, too…because wouldn’t it be awesome if those living in nursing homes and assisted care facilities received tons and tons of uplifting messages?

Yes…yes, it would be awesome.

27 Acts of Kindness_ Days 17 and 18
Does anyone else (besides me) think that these GIFs are just the bee’s knees?

Thursday, 4/23 – Act of Kindness #18: I got to do a really cool thing yesterday afternoon: I attended a virtual meet-and-greet with high school students in which I answered their questions about how my business is handling this challenging time. This neat opportunity was made available to me by my company, which recently launched a special COVID-19 volunteering and giving page on one of its directories.

I had no idea what to expect going into this, and I was worried that I might be talking aimlessly for a full half hour to bored high school students. But that’s not at all what happened. After I introduced myself and explained what I do for my company (and how it operates), I was pleasantly surprised when they really engaged in conversation with me, and asked me thoughtful questions such as how I’ve created a sense of normalcy working from home during this time, what my biggest challenges are, and whether I think these events will change the way business and society operate in the future. It was a very fluid conversation and the students thanked me profusely for my time at the end, which made me feel like it was truly appreciated that I set aside part of my afternoon to talk to them.

And it made me feel really thankful that associates within my company put in the time and energy to make these volunteer opportunities available to us so that we can participate in something constructive to help combat feelings of helplessness.

27 Acts of Kindness: Days 12, 13, and 14

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In times of sadness, fear, and uncertainty…laughter can be a powerful medicine.

I know that I haven’t had much to laugh about lately. Neither has…well, the world, really.

So my desire to have a good chuckle, and make others laugh along with me, was strong this week and inspired Friday’s little act of kindness…

Friday, 4/17 – Act of Kindness #12: I dressed up as Dwight Schrute today.

Yes, that character from The Office. Two years ago, I dressed up as him for Halloween and it was a hit among my coworkers. I figured I could surprise them on Friday by dressing up as him (I still have the wig, glasses, yellow button-down, and tie) and attending my virtual meetings in the beet farmers’ signature garb.

Despite my concerns that they might think I’m a freaking weirdo, they loved Dwight’s appearance in both of my Friday afternoon meetings. Inspired by their positive reaction, I took my Dwight disguise a step further and uploaded all sorts of pictures and videos to Instagram of me in costume doing funny things for my friends and family who follow my account to see. I got a ton of messages throughout the day thanking me for my silliness because it did what I wanted it to do: make people smile.

And I even walked my parents’ dog around my VERY small town dressed as Dwight. I got a couple of honks, a few smiles, and more confused looks than I could count, but it was all worth it – those who know and love The Office as much as I do got a kick out of it, and that’s what mattered to me.

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Photographic evidence of the Dwight costume. And a phrase commonly associated with his characters with a diabetes twist: Bears. ‘Betes. Battlestar Galactica.

Saturday, 4/18 – Act of Kindness #13: Early Saturday afternoon, I got the disappointing news that the Children with Diabetes Friends for Life Orlando conference was canceled this year. I was saddened because I made plans to be there in-person for the first time in seven years. There were so many people from the diabetes online community who I wanted to meet in real life at this conference, but I know that the right decision was made to help keep our community safe and healthy at home. Plus, the conference is moving to a virtual format, so it helps to know that we will be able to attend it in some form.

Anyways, the cancellation encouraged me to ask for a partial refund (in lieu of a full one)  for the conference registration I’d purchased earlier this year. The money that I didn’t get back went straight to Children with Diabetes to help them fund their mission, and I feel that it was the right thing to do since they need support (and funding) to make these conferences happen in the first place.

Sunday, 4/19 – Act of Kindness #14: New England weather is effing weird. It snowed and rained all day Sunday, and then yesterday it was sunny and a fairly warm 61 degrees! The beautiful weather brought with it a revitalization for me. I had all sorts of energy to help my parents with a myriad of tasks around the home, so that’s what I did. I couldn’t even complain about it, because dare I say, I enjoyed the chance to move around the house and yard so much (if my parents are reading this, they’re probably jumping for joy over the fact I just admitted that). It felt good to be productive, and since my parents have both worked their butts off in the last few weeks (okay, they always work hard, but the last few weeks have been a little different), I was happy to do a little something that helps them out so they could have a bit more time to rest.

My acts of kindness continue to be small, in the grand scheme of things. But knowing that they’ve helped people, in some teensy-weensy way when things have been rough, continues to motivate me to keep up this challenge. Halfway there!

27 Acts of Kindness: Days 10 and 11

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Hey Cactus Huggers. How’s it going? Is everyone holding up okay?

(I’d ask if you’re “hunkering down” but that phrase is just overused these days. So I’m just doing a standard “how ya doin’?”)

It’s hard to believe that many of us have been quarantined for more than a month now. Surprisingly, I’m holding up okay. Sure, I miss going places, and I would really like to hug a bunch of the people who I’m missing more and more with each passing day. But I know that self-isolating is the right thing to do for the time being.

Besides, I’ve had work and some personal projects to keep me busy, and that always helps.

And you know by now that the acts of kindness challenge is among my personal projects at the moment! Here’s what we’ve got for Wednesday and Thursday of this week…

Wednesday, 4/15 – Act of Kindness #10: One thing that my family and I have been particularly grateful for throughout this crisis (besides each other) is the fact that we have food. It’s a basic need that so many people in this world go without, and we often take for granted that we not only have it, but we have a wide variety in choices of fresh produce, cuts of meat, dairy products, snack bars, and some treats, too. We’re so dang lucky that we can afford to keep our kitchen well-stocked and to have access to so much in the first place.

That’s why I chose to donate to my town’s community food bank as Wednesday’s act of kindness. I was actually able to double my donation, thanks to my company’s new COVID-19 giving and volunteering program. So not only am I fortunate enough to be in a position to give back to my community, but I’m also privileged to work for a company that’s actively supporting the communities where its employees live and work.

And when it rains on your parade, look up rather than down. Without the rain, there would be no rainbow.
We’re getting fancy now with an act of kindness-inspired GIF!

Thursday, 4/16 – Act of Kindness #11: I admit that yesterday’s act directly benefited me. Allow me to explain.

When I started doing research on different acts of kindness that I could do without in-person contact with others (because obviously it’s important to protect ourselves and our loved ones right now), I was surprised by how many suggestions revolved around things like calling, emailing, and texting other people. I guess I hadn’t thought about it this way before, but setting aside the time to let someone, anyone in your life know that you’re thinking of them is a huge gesture of kindness and friendship. So, inspired in part by the notion of reconnecting with old friends, I helped make that happen last night when I video chatted with three T1D pals who I literally haven’t seen in years.

It was awesome to reunite and catch up on everything that’s happened to all of us in that span of time. And it was a major reminder to me that I know some extremely cool people! One biked across the country a couple years ago with another group of T1Ds (you may have heard about a little thing called Bike Beyond), one has participated in the Boston Marathon not just once, but multiple times (!), and the other has helped an amazing nonprofit grow from a wee tiny thing into a pretty huge freaking deal. It’s truly an honor that I can say that I don’t just know these people, but they’re friends, and friends that I’m glad I made time for (and hope to hang out with, virtually and in-person, more often).

Things have been strange lately, and are strange now, and will continue to be strange for some time…but at least the company we keep, whether it’s physically under the same roof, a few miles away, or across the country, can keep us in positive spirits and make things feel…well, a little less strange.

27 Acts of Kindness: Days 5, 6, and 7

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Long weekends are weird when you’re quarantined.

Normally, I’m a big fan of long weekends…for obvious reasons. But the fact that I had this past Friday off from work just felt bizarre. I put a lot of pressure on myself to use the time off wisely and be super productive, but to be totally honest, I just…wasn’t. I got tired halfway through the day and did nothing but perform my best couch potato impression.

And I was disappointed in myself for being so lazy.

I’m trying to reconcile the compulsion to make good use of all my time in quarantine with the desire to lean into my feelings and allow myself to be down in the dumps over the whole situation. It’s hard to find a happy medium between the two. Luckily, though, my determination to complete 27 acts of kindness each day leading up to my 27th birthday does help me feel like I’m putting a small iota of goodness back into the world during a time that I feel so listless.

Plus, it was a special weekend: a holy weekend. It only felt right to celebrate the holiday (in part) by continuing my kindness acts…

27 Acts of Kindness_ Days 5, 6, and 7
Acts of kindness over Easter weekend carried a special meaning.

Friday, 4/10 – Act of Kindness #5: I decided to do an act of kindness that would benefit my parents, so I did a semi-detail of their cars. I say “semi” because it wasn’t the full detail that I wanted to give them; I’d planned on washing the cars, but the weather forecast prevented that from happening. But I still managed to vacuum the heck out of their cars’ interiors, as well as wipe down the windows and remove as much dust and dirt, in general, as possible from the seats and dashboards. This act of kindness was only half-fulfilled in my book…but at least the effort I put into it yielded great blood sugars, so it was technically a fairly successful act nonetheless. It’s “to be continued” another day!

Saturday, 4/11 – Act of Kindness #6: Nobody in the house felt like cooking Saturday night, so we placed an order with an area restaurant for takeaway instead. I was in charge of ordering, so when it came time to pay I decided to leave an extra-large tip for the restaurant waitstaff because I know that this small, local business is struggling to support its employees during these difficult times.

Sunday, 4/12 – Act of Kindness #7: I felt so much gratitude on Easter Sunday this year. I was thankful for nice weather and a large, delicious meal cooked up by my mother, as well as the opportunity to experience a semblance of normalcy by attending church virtually. I decided to write to my church’s priest to thank him for his dedication to our parish, and for calming our anxieties in this uncertain time. This particular act of kindness might seem minor – especially since I’ve already done a couple acts of kindness that involved me using my writing skills – but this actually brought me out of my comfort zone a bit because I simply had no idea how to properly express my thanks. But eventually I found the words that felt right, and I’m glad that I got over my hesitations and sent the note.

And with that, one full week of acts of kindness done…and I’m just getting started.

 

27 Acts of Kindness: Days 3 and 4

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One of the best parts about doing this kindness challenge during an, um…pandemic is that it requires me to think creatively.

I’m trying to avoid doing acts of kindness that prevents direct contact with others, because hello, social distancing!

So this means a lot of my efforts aren’t exactly tangible. But I’ve already started to feel that warm-‘n-fuzzy feeling that often comes with doing good for others, and it’s truly lovely.

More specifically…

Wednesday, 4/8 – Act of Kindness #3: I had an incredibly frustrating and mostly nonproductive work day – and to make it even more maddening, it wasn’t my fault; rather, there were various technological issues going on with my machine. I had to seek the help of my company’s IT person in order to resolve it. We spent a full hour on the phone, and during our call, I couldn’t help but notice that she wasn’t only juggling her job responsibilities, but she was also doing what she could to take care of her three young children. I was in awe of her ability to stay cool, calm, and collected throughout the entire troubleshooting period, so I decided to express my gratitude for her via email. I sent her a note in which I thanked her for her efforts, and also told her that I know I’m not the only one in our company who recognizes her hard work (in a meeting earlier in the day, the entire group on the call was singing her praise). She responded to my email and let me know that she really appreciated my kind words after a tough day, which put a huge smile on my face.

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“This is the best way we know how to bring a little respite to those fighting to keep us safe and healthy and remind them that we are thinking about them.” -New City Microcreamery

Thursday, 4/9 – Act of Kindness #4: So I had noooo idea what I should try to do for my fourth act of kindness. I have a list of ideas, but I’m also open to spur-of-the-moment acts inspired by the events of my day or observations that I make. And wouldn’t you know it, I had a major stroke of inspiration when I opened my personal Instagram profile.

I was scrolling through my feed when I noticed a post from a local ice cream shop that I adore. They were announcing a fundraiser called “Scoops for Heroes”. In the post, the team explained that the purpose of this program is to deliver pints of ice cream to our heroes on the front lines; specifically, individuals who work in hospitals and first responders. The goal was to raise $2,000 to start deliveries next week, with 100% of the proceeds going directly to employing team members and purchasing the goods needed to provide pints of ice cream to our hometown heroes.

Delicious ice cream and support for a local business, its employees, AND the amazing people who work to keep the community safe…what’s not to love about supporting a fundraiser that involves all of that? I was more than happy to contribute and I have total faith in my community’s ability to come together and meet (and more than likely, surpass) the creamery’s goal.

If you’re interested in contributing, too, here’s the link to the GoFundMe page.

27 Acts of Kindness: Days 1 and 2

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Hey Cactus huggers! Here’s my first update on how my 27 acts of kindness are going. I’ll continue to publish blog posts on my usual Monday/Wednesday/Friday schedule, and each post will cover the retroactive acts of kindness. You’ll see how it works as each post rolls out…so without further ado…

My 27 acts of kindness challenge has officially kicked off! (Not familiar with what I’m referring to? Here’s my introductory post to the how and why of my challenge.) Here are the two acts I’ve done so far:

Monday, 4/6 – Act of Kindness #1: Fittingly, this challenge began on a Monday. I was excited to complete my first act of kindness, but had no idea what it should be. So I waited until the late afternoon, when I had a thought…why not help out someone near and dear to me?

To maintain this person’s privacy, I won’t be sharing any of their personal information or explain my connection to them. But this person lives far away from me. And I miss this individual. I think of them often and it’s important to me that this person knows that I care. Since my person is going through some job difficulties at the moment, I decided to send them a little money. It’s not much, but it was a gesture intended to let the person know that they are not far from my thoughts. Hopefully, they are able to use it to treat themselves a little.

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Writing the card transported me right back to my childhood days of corresponding with pen pals.

Tuesday, 4/7 – Act of Kindness #2: Over the weekend, I spent some time researching acts of kindness ideas online. And I came across one website that suggested making a card for a hospitalized child. I loved this idea for so many reasons. For starters, all throughout my childhood, I was obsessed with drawing and writing cards and letters to family, friends, and pen pals. And when I received something in the mail in return, I was always over-the-moon excited. My appreciation for letter-writing and receiving is probably what fostered my passion for writing, period. And since I was a hospitalized child when I was diagnosed with diabetes at age 4, something about writing a card for a hospitalized child now felt natural to me…like a full-circle moment or something. So I busted out my old magic marker kit and wrote a heartfelt message in a card that I mailed off to an organization called Cards for Hospitalized Kids. I hope that my card lands in the hands of a child who could really use a reminder that they’re not alone.

And with that…two acts of kindness down, 25 more to go! I’m looking forward to seeing how the challenge evolves over time. And if you decide to take part in it, please do and let me know! I’d love to give shout-outs to any fellow participants.

 

27 Acts of Kindness

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I didn’t publish a new blog post on Friday.

This wasn’t accidental. I deliberately neglected my blog because…my heart just wasn’t in it. Contrary to my blog a few weeks ago, I felt…I don’t know…kind of dumb about maintaining my blog through all this? Like, what’s the point of my silly little blog when the world is fighting a massive battle right now?

Maybe it’s foolish to feel that way, maybe it’s not. I don’t know. I moped about it for most of last week, and then spent some time seriously thinking about how and why I was feeling mightily blue about my blog.

And then I realized: I’m feeling a bit helpless. I want to help my loved ones and my community in any way that I can, but how can I possibly do anything productive from home?

I thought about it some more before the perfect idea came to me.

In exactly 27 days, I turn 27 years old. There’s nothing particularly special or exciting about this age, but I do have the power to make it a meaningful birthday celebration by doing 27 acts of kindness each day leading up to May 3rd.

hugging the cactus - a t1d blog
I can’t think of a better way to celebrate my birthday than to share a little love with the world.

I don’t know exactly what or how these acts of kindness will unfold over the next several weeks – I think that part of the beauty of the challenge is that I can go with what feels right as each day goes by – but I do know that I’ll document my experiences here. I’ll share what I do each day and I’ll do my best to make sure that each act is unique. And I’ll continue to publish posts regularly (my 3x per week schedule). Daily posts would be ideal, but I know myself and I know my real-world workload wouldn’t exactly accommodate that.

The only other thing you might be wondering about my challenge is…what the heck does it have to do with diabetes? That’s a valid question, considering this IS a blog about my life with type 1 diabetes. And my answer to it is that I will do as many diabetes-specific acts of kindness as possible. I imagine that in the next month or so, plenty of diabetes-related anecdotes will sneak their way into my posts, as they always do.

And finally, a clarification…I hope my challenge isn’t misconstrued as me trying to do something “noble” or “noteworthy”. I want to emphasize that this challenge was born out of pure frustration that I’ve felt over feeling like I’m unable to contribute to society right now when it so desperately needs all of the help that it can get. My heart and my head have been with ALL of the essential employees – my dad and my best friend are just two people in my life who can be counted among them – who are showing up to work each day and dealing with a number of hurdles during this unprecedented time.

All of that combined has really motivated me to take this on and make this upcoming birthday truly meaningful.

A Diabetes Stream of Consciousness

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I first heard the term “stream of consciousness” when I was in high school. My creative writing teacher used it in class one day when she asked us to start writing in our journals for 10 minutes straight – without stopping.

She described it as an opportunity to just let our thoughts flow out from our pens without interruption. Anything we wrote didn’t have to make sense…it was simply an exercise in just letting our writing be, in an unrefined and unapologetically honest kind of way.

hugging the cactus - a t1d blog
What would your diabetes stream of consciousness look like?

When I was struggling to write a blog post for today – because let’s face it, writer’s block is real – the stream of consciousness concept popped into my mind. And I started thinking about it in a diabetes lens, which resulted in this*:

Ugh there’s my alarm blaring again
let me reach for my phone and check my CGM data first thing
okay I will use this to bolus for breakfast what do I even want to eat today
okay let’s go ahead and just get the insulin pumping
input for 30 carbs even though I am not sure that I really want to eat 30 grams worth of carbs but whatever I’m sitting at home all day anyways so I may need any of the extra insulin that gets delivered
finally roll out of bed and make my way down the stairs and eat breakfast and do the crossword like I always do to wake my brain up some more
then set to work and work straight for the next two hours or so I forget exactly how long it was but then my CGM alarm interrupts my flow so rudely OMG why am I this high
okay I guess it’s time to take my lunch break a little earlier than I wanted but my blood sugar is too high and it will distract me further if I keep trying to work through it so I get up and do a high-intensity cardio workout for half an hour
and that does the trick, by the time I jump into the shower my blood sugar is coming back down
oh that’s so much better I sit back in my chair not too long after and get back to work and pause again only to have lunch
I make an egg with an English muffin and also eat a banana for “dessert” though I wish I could have chocolate boy am I craving chocolate lately or what
I pad my bolus with extra insulin because I seem to be trending higher lately which is obnoxious and then I settle in for an hour-long meeting and I’m relieved to discover I’m on mute when my CGM starts alarming again and I’m so fucking exasperated,
I’m high again and it’s probably because of the banana although I can’t really be sure so I start rage bolusing
BAM BAM BAM
get that insulin in my system puh-lease and then I work again for another couple of hours before it’s time for another break and
I go for a walk with my mom and the dog and we’re midway through our usual route when I start to feel those familiar signs of an early low blood sugar some shakiness and some general unease
sure enough when I get home I check my CGM (so many times that I check it throughout the day) and I’ve got a down arrow and I’m plunging into low territory quickly and FINALLY I can have some of that chocolate I’ve been wanting all day
YUM Cadbury eggs.

*I added punctuation and line breaks after writing for five minutes straight just to make this somewhat more readable.

What did I learn after doing this little writing exercise? Diabetes really dominates my mind from the moment I wake up. It is the reason behind just about every decision I make and I don’t really ever get a mental break from it.

But luckily, there’s chocolate for that.

The Gratitude Challenge: 5 Things I’m Grateful For

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Yesterday, my dear friend Emma (who I did the Ask Me About My Type 1 Podcast with) posted a daily gratitude challenge on her Instagram account. She explained that the leadership training program that she runs teaches participants to develop small habits that change your life. One is to write daily “gratitudes” that help highlight all of your reasons “why”.

I interpret my “why” as the things that keep me going – the positives that help me shine a bit brighter, and the parts of my life that I just don’t appreciate or recognize as much as I should.

The Gratitude Challenge_ 5 Things I'm Grateful For
Will you take on the gratitude challenge?

So I decided to take time to list five of my “gratitudes” in today’s blog post, and like Emma, I challenge you to do the same.

Gratitude #1: My people (and pets). Goodness knows that I could and should tell the people in my life that I love them more often than I do. My people – my family, friends, coworkers – are incredible sources of strength and support in my life. They make me laugh, they are there to console me when I’m upset, and they are always generally around to offer wisdom and a listening ear when I need it. And I cannot forget my pets…Clarence the Shetland Sheepdog and Tyrion “Tater Tot” the betta fish bring me joy on a daily basis.

Gratitude #2: A roof over my head (and all things that come with that). I am so lucky to have a home to live in, a warm bed to sleep in, a kitchen to dine in, a family room to relax in…these are things that I absolutely take for granted during normal circumstances, and I can’t help but feel fortunate to have them given these strange times.

Gratitude #3: The ability to work remotely. These are trying times for working Americans…many people are without jobs right now, and I can only imagine how many families this directly and indirectly impacts. I’m appreciative of the fact that I am able to do my job (and do it well) remotely, and in that same vein, I’m glad that my department employs video chat during meetings – it truly does help me feel that much more connected to my coworkers!

Gratitude #4: The wide array of entertainment options available to me. I have so many universes, plots, and characters to explore right now through various books, television shows, movies, video games…and I finally have time to really delve into them in the coming weeks. I’m particularly looking forward to reading more – I used to positively devour books (I read the last book in the Harry Potter series in about 12 hours). My new nighttime routine is to get cozy and read for at least a half hour before going to bed. I find it to be the perfect escape. Plus, I can continue to pursue my hobbies – knitting, playing the mandolin, crafting in general, etc. – with all of this spare time I’m suddenly finding on my hands.

Gratitude #5: God. I don’t think I’ve ever discussed my religion openly online before, but I am a Catholic and I try to practice my faith in little ways on a daily basis. One thing that I do nightly is pray. When I pray, I have conversations with God, and it has brought me so much comfort in the last several weeks. And even if I wasn’t religious, I’m sure I’d still find it beneficial to meditate or reflect at the end of each day…to mull over the things that went well, and maybe some of the things that didn’t, and focus on the positives of the bigger picture.

Bonus Gratitude #6: It’s kind of (okay, definitely) weird to say that I’m grateful for diabetes…but it’s not the thing itself I’m thankful for. Hell no. Rather, it’s the other things – the people, the wisdom, the self-sufficiency, the experiences – that my diabetes has brought into my life that I’d like to express gratitude for.

Now you know some of my many “gratitudes”…why don’t you let me know yours? Tell me what you’re grateful for by dropping a comment here, or by tagging me on Instagram or Twitter. Let’s see how many people we can get to participate.