Does anyone remember being
10 years old and popping a
mono on the BMX for the full
extent of their leg-pumping
ability? How about puffing
the chest feathers out as you
launched – with a wafer of
cardboard under your wing – what you
thought was the biggest leap on record,
off the level playing field, down the
adjacent steep grassy slope. All for
the unashamed love of showing off.
Sure, I can hear myself as a grown
man to my own kids, “No one likes a
big noter”. I do stand by that one; there
is not much more annoying than hearing
someone tell you just how great they are.
“Showing off ”, however, well that’s
another thing altogether. For me, it
comes down to hard work and pride in your effort,
not in your result. Generally, when the effort
matches the desire, the results are pretty good.
That said, it is entirely plausible that you will break
a limb flying off the side of a hill on a square of
cardboard.
Moving away from what I thought would impress
Sonia Brown, Nicole Williams and Carolyn Day as a
10 year old (whether they liked it or not, I felt like I
had proved something), it still seems important to
me now, when considering the management of
diabetes, not to lose the desire and effort that
made showing off an option all those years ago.
If you can take out the downsides and look at
the positives, there are a few that I find stand out.
Type 1 forced a maturity on me as a seven year old
that I didn’t expect. In hindsight, as a kid, I became
aware of food and healthy quantities. I had an
understanding of sugar’s role in my diet. I had goals
set for me that may have seemed unrealistic and
unfair but, as I grew up, they may have given me a
self-control that I would otherwise have
gone without.
Sometimes I feel that if not for type 1,
I may have had a far less desirable
outcome. I still love food and a good
time, but when the numbers say it’s time
to adjust, it is exactly that. I may be
wrong, but I reckon a positive outlook
starts internally.
Then to showing off. It’s not about
circus tricks but ownership of this
condition. Just like riding on a BMX
track, there are plenty of moments where there is
not a great deal to see, aside from steady pedalling.
There may be a couple of stacks, but really, they
are opportunities to learn and improve. Then
there are the jumps, punctuations to be proud of.
These could be an improved HbA1c, a four-hour
run of a perfect line of glucose level. Realising that
the Christmas pudding is ready just as your recipe
says it should be.
When you celebrate these moments as they
happen you are not “big noting” yourself. You
are simply acknowledging a bit of pre-teenage flair.
No matter your age, the ones who care will be
thrilled at your success. ■I reckon
a positive
outlook starts
internally
PHOTOGRAPHYDAVID THOMSON (ROB’S PHOTO), GETTY IMAGESOur resident type 1 columnist, Rob Palmer, sees nothing wrong
with taking some pride in a job well done and success well earned
postcards from the shed
138 JULY/AUGUST 2018 diabetic living