Butterfingers

My kids are all at the ages that they LOVE Halloween. I have to be honest, I'm not a huge fan. Okay, the theme of candy might be part of the reason, but I don't love dressing up, and I'm kinda a home-body, so going out and walking with the masses on a dark and cold night while trying to not loose one of my children isn't quite my idea of a good time. In fact, it's a little stressful.

But, I do love butterfingers (and Reese's chocolates) and the little packages make me feel like I'm not being too bad by eating a few. (I usually stop counting after three ;) And I want my kids to love the fun, especially while they are young and it is all so innocent. So this year I put on my happy face, along with a Snow White costume, and went along for the festivities.

This year my daughter almost broke my heart. After my kids went through all their candy, my 7 year old daughter came over to me and said, "Here Mommy, you can have my butterfingers, for when your blood sugar is low." Her willingness to share with me was sweet, but the fact that she knows what I need when my blood sugar is low blew me away. I know I've talked to her about diabetes and about low blood sugars, but I hadn't realized how much she's already processed and how much she truly understands this disease.

I wish my kids didn't have to worry about their mom. I wish my daughter could share as much candy with her mommy as she wanted and not have to think about blood sugar levels. I wish I didn't have to explain how to call 9-1-1 or why I can't share a juice box with my toddler. I wish I could keep this disease to myself and not worry about passing it on to my children in some form or another. But that's not the way family works, and it's not the way diabetes works. Like it or not, my kids, my husband, and all of my loved ones live with this disease too. They support me in so many ways, with their love, with their encouragement, and sometimes even with their butterfingers.