Mom Mode Activated

I get ready like most people do, except type 1 diabetes adds another layer of medical decision-making, mathematics and preparation.

Then I head downstairs and switch into mom mode.

As the mother of a nine-year-old, mornings include breakfast, backpacks, shoes and my ongoing countdown:

“Twenty minutes until we leave!”
“Ten minutes!”
“Five minutes!”

During Denver’s cooler months, we walk to school. But even that requires diabetes planning. If I took insulin that morning, I need to consider how much is still active because insulin plus a brisk walk can sometimes send my blood sugar straight down.

Phone? Check. Pump? Check. Gummies? Check. Daughter? Check.

We’re off.

Coffee, Work and a Few Beeps

After school drop-off, I head home.

First order of business: coffee.

Breakfast might be avocado toast and sausage links, followed by another round of carb counting and insulin decisions.

Then I start working. Much of my remote work involves writing, advocacy and connecting with people in the type 1 diabetes community.

Somewhere between work and household chores, I’m also managing the less-visible side of diabetes: endocrinologist appointments, dentist appointments, retina follow-ups, prescriptions and supply orders.

Oh look! My pump supplies arrived.

It may sound strange to get excited about medical supplies, but after living with type 1 diabetes for nearly four decades, I’m incredibly grateful to be alive during this era of diabetes technology and to have access to tools that help me manage it.

Then... Beep. My blood sugar is low.

Work stops. Gummies come out.

Because diabetes does not care what was on my calendar.

Workout, School Pickup and Dinner

Lunch might be a protein shake or a chicken salad sandwich, and then it’s time for my workout.

Exercise is another balancing act.

What’s my blood sugar? How much insulin is still active? Do I need a snack?

Some days I nail it, other days I’m sitting there eating gummies in workout clothes.

We adapt.

Before I know it, it’s time for school pickup. I hear about my daughter’s day, we head home, and eventually the question every family asks arrives: What are we having for dinner?

Except my version also includes: How many carbs? Where is my blood sugar? When should I bolus? Am I trending up or down? And can I please eat my dinner while it’s still hot?

Eventually, we sit down, talk, laugh and enjoy being together.

These are the moments I love most—the ordinary family moments happening while diabetes quietly hums in the background.

Preparing for the Night Shift

Eventually, the house gets quiet and I start preparing for bed.

But diabetes gets one last check.

Is my blood sugar steady? Do I have enough insulin in my pump? Is it charged? Is my CGM working?

My goal?

A full night of sleep without my pump or CGM yelling at me.

No urgent lows. No stubborn highs. No beep, beep, beep from the nightstand.

Please, diabetes. Give me this one.

From the outside, my day probably looks pretty ordinary. School drop-off. Coffee. Work. Exercise. School pickup. Dinner. Family time. Bed.

But woven throughout those ordinary moments are dozens of decisions about insulin, food, movement, blood sugar, appointments and technology.

After nearly four decades, type 1 diabetes is part of the rhythm of my life—but it isn’t my whole life.

I’m a mom. A wife. A writer. An advocate.

I’m building a life I love while managing a disease that requires my attention 24 hours a day.

So I check my blood sugar one last time, put down my phone and close my eyes. Hopefully, there won’t be any beeps.



Because tomorrow morning, we wake up... and start all over again.