Misunderstandings

I am stealing this post from a blog I stumbled upon, because I think it is neat and the author speaks wise words:

(the author is writing about her daughter, a seven year-old who was just diagnosed with Diabetes in May)

When you have a child with a disease or any other issue you open your world to a lot of people making numerous comments that make no sense or are completely inaccurate (I have to believe that they think they are doing it out of kindness – or I would be punching a lot more people these days!)

The hardest part is explaining to someone that feels they know more about your disease than you, even though you are living with it day and day out. At first I just accepted the comments with an “okay” and moved along as soon as you I could, but not anymore!

Diabetes is very misunderstood.

First and foremost there are 2 types of diabetes:

Type 1 – Insulin Dependent from the onset and for the rest of your life with little to no understanding of the cause or why it happened to you or your family member, and

Type 2 – Healthy diet and exercise and for most people a pill can manage this type. They know or are aware of the major causes for this type: family history, diet and lifestyle all play a part. You should know if you are at risk for Type 2 – please find out – you can work on avoiding it more if you know! (Check out this website to check your risk factors: http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-basics/prevention/diabetes-risk-test/?utm_source=WWW&utm_medium=DropDownDB&utm_content=RiskTest&utm_campaign=CON

More people have Type 2 and are at risk for Type 2 – everyone that thinks they understand diabetes knows it from people with Type 2 – most people do not understand that Type 1 is in no way avoidable and you really can’t know if you are at risk for Type 1.

Step Out: Walk for Diabetes

I just wanted to say THANKS to everyone who supported my Walk for Diabetes this morning. I raised $220 and was proud to bear my red had, designating me as a "Red Strider" (a participant with Diabetes).

My friend Justine (from Rippleside) and I walked almost seven miles this morning to support the cause. We started out at a brisk thirty-four degrees, but it quickly warmed up to a balmy 50-degree day. Hoorah! With great company, yummy snacks, BEAUTIFUL changing leaves, and a walk along the Paul Bunyan Trail, it was a start to a fun day!

Here is a picture of my snazzy hat. :)

Things I love most about Aitkin (so far)

1. Camp: I am close to camp, but I am not at camp (all the time). When I visit camp, it's for the right reasons - to celebrate, to visit friends, to volunteer, to worship, or to work. I'm not at camp because I'm living there, feeling like I'm saving money.

2. My house: I love living alone, even though it can be lonely (I guess that's why it's called "alone"). But, I have the freedom to do things like make the world's best dessert, an oreo wrapped in a chocolate-chip cookie (see pictures/a recipe here).

3. The staff: I cannot even begin to describe the hospitality and warmth with which the school staff has surrounded me. I feel as though I'm a part of the community and as though I'm supported and welcomed! Everyone seems to care, even clerks at Aitkin Furniture and Paulbeck's Market. :)

10 things to never say...

This is a list of 10 things to never say to a Vegan. I am not vegan, and I don't ever plan to be vegan, but it's pretty applicable to vegetarianism, too! :)

http://vivelevegan.blogspot.com/2011/08/10-things-never-to-say-to-vegan.html

Exciting news!

Scroll down to "Staff Changes" :)

http://www.aitkinage.com/main.asp?SectionID=3&SubSectionID=75&ArticleID=37711

Books!

My new favorite website is www.thriftbooks.com, and I may have gone on a bit of a spending spree this week (oops!). Anyway, I have quite a few books on order, due to arrive within the next week or so. Here is what I am looking forward to reading soon:

1. Educating Esme: Diary of a Teacher's First Year

Esme Raji Codell

2. How to Talk so Kids can Learn

Elaine Mazlish, Adele Faber

3. Queen Bees and Wannabees: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends, and Other Realities of Adolescence

Rosalind Wiseman

4. We Will Sing: Choral Music Experience for Classroom Choirs

5. Me Talk Pretty One Day

David Sedaris

6. Mere Christianity

C.S. Lewis

7. Velvet Elvis: Repainting Christian Faith

Rob Bell

8. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Stieg Larsson

9. The Girl who Played with Fire

Stieg Larsson

10. Pretty Good Joke Book

Garrison Keillor

Anyway, I'm eagerly awaiting my shipments! I paid about $37.00 for the ten books, with free shipping, AND they're all used and therefore not going in a landfill. Great!

Today!

Today was busy! And really great! Here are a few things I did today...

1. Yoga! I led early-morning (only 7:30am, not that bad) yoga with Alex. We like to start out with a theme, since it's silly yoga. So, we picked the themes of Easter and breakfast and figured we'd let the campers go from there. Requests included dinosaurs, outerspace, and unicorns. With our twenty-two campers, we combined unicorns/dinosaurs/outerspace/breakfast/Easter to fill a half an hour with adventurous yoga. My favorite move was the pancake - you lay flat on your back and don't move, because you are a pancake! Pretty relaxing. :)

2. Sailing! Meghan took me sailing during free time today. There was hardly any wind and I can't say I remember much from sailing camp three years ago, but it was a great day to get out on the water.

3. Dance! During campers' choice in the afternoon, Cassie and I led dancing. We had twelve high-school juniors and seniors sign up, so it was a really fun and silly activity. We made up a few dances to teach to the campers, and we let them make up their own to perform for each other (they were actually really great!). Then, we played "freeze," an improv game where two people dance up front and when someone else yells "freeze," they take the place of one of the people up front. Finally, we led circle/square dancing. During Creative Arts week last week, the families get together for a hoedown each night (it's super intense). They dance late into the night, and they're always really great dancers because of family tradition and coming to Creative Arts for years and years. So, we had a blast teaching the campers circle dances this afternoon.

4. Delivered treats! I baked treats this weekend - campfire crack (trail mix/Chex mix, don't worry!) and Special K bars. I delivered them to cabins this afternoon, bringing the bars to counselors I knew were having a tough week. I also packed some campfire crack to send to friends working at other camps this summer. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to mail the Special K bars because they were too goopy and would've melted.

5. Helped in the kitchen! Our kitchen volunteer this evening really wanted to play the all-camp game, so I volunteered to jump in and take her place. I spent a few hours prepping food, mopping, washing dishes, etc...none of which was very fun. However, Tuesday's theme is "hospitality," and I feel like I did my part today!

It was a really fantastic day at camp, even though I am exhausted. I'm looking forward to an evening of singing/reading to cabins, playing NERTS/cribbage, and reading the books I just got in the mail! Woohoo!