New Year, New Blog Post.
Isn’t that how the saying goes?
Diabetes has definitely been on the back burner since I last wrote here on my blog and embarked on a new career 18 months ago.
I used to have a lot of structure in my day as a shift worker. I’d wake up and start work at the same time each day. I’d have my breaks at set times, and I’d always clock out at 4 o’clock on the dot. I’d come home and do some variation of coffee, snack, walk, exercise, dinner, study, write, read and bed. Can you tell I’m a creature of habit?
My day to day is a lot more spontaneous now. I don’t have to be at work by a set time each morning. I definitely go out a lot more, whether that be for coffees, lunches or Friday drinks. For those times where I just need a day or two at home? No problem. Then there are also times where I’ll have to work past 5pm. I have to try a lot harder to set those work/life boundaries that just used to be there.
The last 18 months or so have been challenging, but also incredibly rewarding in terms of personal growth. Like being outside of my comfort zone. Learning new things. Meeting new people. Doing stuff I’ve never done before.
Between full time work, Accounting busy seasons and progress toward a Graduate Diploma in Chartered Accounting, the reality is that I want to spend my spare time offline. Walking along the coast or going for a run, spending time with my family, grabbing a coffee with friends, making a nice lunch on Sunday or just looking after myself.
I have a friend at work who I always tease for having the Group teams chat on ‘mute’ and never participating, to the extent that I forget she’s even in the chat. Until I see her in person and she’s up to speed on everything about everyone.
I’ve been around in the DOC and peer support spaces for long enough to know that people’s needs evolve over time, just like my own. One of the best things about the diabetes community is that it’s big and wide and broad enough that it’s always going to be there in whatever shape or form I need it.
Like my friend at work, I’ve been more lurking quietly in the background these days. I’ve also been reading more and getting my peer support in person.
I’ve had a few conversations about this blog over the past year or so, and one friend in the diabetes community recently put all of this into perspective for me. She thought it was fantastic that I didn’t feel the need to update my blog so often. It meant that diabetes was in the background, and not at the forefront of my mind. Second to life.
I think that’s a pretty good note to start the New Year on.
Happy New Year. Wishing you the very best for 2023.
