Taking care of myself

I try to take care of myself, but some days I just want to sit around the house and be lazy.  However if I want to control my diabetes, I need to exercise as well as eat right.  Tuesday morning was a little wake up call.  I wasn't in the mood to go work out so I asked my youngest, "Do you want to go to the Y or do you want to just go home and watch TV?"  She wanted to go to the Y.  "Don't you want to go home and watch [insert favorite PBS show]?"  (Can you tell I didn't want to work out?)  "No, Mommy, you need to go to the Y.  I don't want your legs cut off."  Wow!

Sometimes my children don't want their parents going to the Y to work out.  They enjoy having us at home.  Our forth one is especially vocal about her objections.  Finally I asked her if she wanted to push me around in a wheelchair.  Umm, no.  Then I explained to her what happened to my grandfather who passed away when I was a young teenager.  He had Type 2 diabetes as well as other illnesses.  He lost both of his legs due to gangrene.  Of course the complexities of that don't always click with an eight year old, so I put it very bluntly - my grandfather lost both of his legs to diabetes; he had to have them cut off.  When I told her that, she realized how serious diabetes can be.

I don't know all the details of Grandpa's medical condition, but I do know that he is now my inspiration to take care of myself.  I have finally accepted that having special mommy only snacks and working out at the Y are not selfish things.  Looking at my precious children I realize that taking care of myself is the most selfless thing I could ever do.  I have to be good to myself first if I'm going to do them any good.