Can I tempt you with a sugar fix, Frank?
I could see snakes, chewies, sour worms, chocolates and other party mix lollies in the bowl my boss was holding in front of me, as she asked ever so nicely.
No thanks, I’m fine.
Oh! She replied with a small gasp, presumably recalling the fact that I have diabetes. Sorry!
There it was.
That presumption that just because I have diabetes, I couldn’t dip my hand into that jar of lollies. Even though I was certain I’d had this conversation before, and hundreds of others like it.
I felt cornered. Defined. I hated seeing someone else make presumptions about what was best for me. And I felt this rising urge to explain.
It’s not that I can’t have them, I just don’t want any at the moment.
The truth is, I’m not a big fan of lollies. Sure, I like them. Sure, I’ve been known to eat them from time to time. But they’re not my absolute favourite sugar laden treat food in the world.
Sure, I could of grabbed a piece of chocolate. But I’d just had my morning tea, and no longer felt particularly hungry. I was also physically working, and wasn’t keen to screw up a steady blood sugar with something spontaneous in this moment. I’ve also been eating far too much junk lately, to the point where I’ve even been treating hypos with Easter eggs. So I am definitely making a conscious effort to be more prepared with my eating behaviours and scale back on the chocolate.
Just like any other person out there in the world, I will politely turn down food from time to time.
All I ask is that you don’t assume that my diabetes is the reason.
