A thing given willingly without payment, a present

Well who doesn’t love to receive a kindhearted gift?  It is heartwarming to know that the gifter considered “YOU” and what would make you happy, then spent their precious time to purchase, wrap and deliver it.   For me, the time and thought put into a gift outshines the gift itself.  And it is reciprocated.  I really enjoy trying to think of the perfect gift and how it will be meaningful to the recipient.   As I get older, I find I enjoy the gift of shared experiences and time together more than expensive “things”.  The “things” get lost or tarnished or used up, but how you feel with someone else doing something new can be remembered and revisted time and time again.  As the saying goes: Presence instead of presents.

A gift to the world

Even though some gifts do cost a bit of money, having access to them is a blessing, yet we often take them for granted.  These are things like air conditioning, access to clean water, public education, liberty and freedom, indoor plumbing and last but not least, insulin!  What a different world it would be without them.  It is easy to complain that the world isn’t perfect and there are significant issues that could be better, but start with gratitude for what you have first.

Do I think corporate greed fuels outrageous insulin prices?  Absolutely.  And it needs to change, but there isn’t a day that goes where I take it for granted.  Just the thought of running out of my little vials, can set off a deep internal panic.  Dr. Banting’s gift has saved millions of people and I start each day with a finger stick and gratitude for his selfless gift.

A natural ability or talent

I would be amiss, not to recognize the passing of Penny Marshall from complications of diabetes.  Diabetes is a term for a collections of illnesses that impact the body’s ability to regulate glucose.  Penny had cancer which precipitated pancreatitis and the resultant damage left her with diabetes.    There are few people who have painted the backdrop of my childhood better than the Fonz and Laverne and Shirley.  Those laughter filled Tuesday nights with family around the TV during some very rough years while my Dad succumbed to colon cancer, were a blessing.  Humor can heal a hurting heart and Penny’s impact through TV and movies can never be quantified.  She was comic genius, with a natural ability that gifted the world.  God’s peace be with you.

It is my sincere hope that gifting my diabetes stories  and insights benefit some of you somewhere, somehow!

Happy Holidays,

Peace and gratitude,

Patricia