Some of you might be reading this from a place where shorts and T-shirts prevail and the concept of layering to keep warm is more or less vague. We had eighteen inches of snow fall yesterday just a few blocks from the mighty Atlantic Ocean in a small one-square mile town on the New Jersey coast. Every so often we get hit with a winter nor’easter similar to a summer master-of-the-universe hurricane.
We all have our ways of propelling, thrusting, actuating, setting in motion, powering, joggling, driving a need or finding a desire that causes action. In other words, discovering within ourselves emotion that operates on the will and inspires us to act. Recently I ran into an old friend who had been diagnosed with T2D a couple years ago. After the initial surprise of the diagnosis and listening to recommendations from the family doctor, he decided take some action in controlling his diabetes and advocating for himself in the form of cycling.
Take notice of a child waking up in the morning. He or she usually gives a big yawn, rubs the sand out of their eyes and then stretches arms and legs all the way out, top to bottom. They then hop out of bed and rev up the energy of the day. Children capture the essence and importance of the morning stretch. Do you?
Look at what we have today: insulin pumps, CGM's we can read on our smart phones, bionic pancreases, support groups and blogs to name a few. Sure, it has taken years of blood, sweat and research to achieve all this. Odd as it may seem sometimes I ask what is it all for anyway? Is the mission for all the discoveries and technologies to improve the lives of those of us who live with diabetes?
Do you trust me? Do you believe me? What would you say if I told you that after nearly fifty-five years of being a PWD1 and at age sixty-five plus I have become a ballerina?
For over twenty years I ran a small exclusive catering business in New York City. One of my clients was an interior designer who decided to have a series of dinner parties to show off the décor in his new apartment to his top clients. And so, my mission impossible staff and I rallied uptown to carry out the order. To tell the truth the apartment was gorgeous but the kitchen, although sleek and beautiful, was not a cook’s kitchen.
Pumpkin Hollow is nestled in the foothills of the Taconic mountain range close to the Berkshires. The terrain is hilly and woodsy with a meandering stream that winds its way through the 130 acre grounds to a waterfall next to the meditation dome. Rustic guest cabins are nestled in strategic spots. Since the Hollow was originally a farm there is a big old main house which lodges a comfortable salon with a welcoming fire place and cozy chairs, a library that beckons readers to explore its quiet bliss, and the kitchen commissary and dining hall whose windows open out to welcome in the greenery of tall trees.
