My Two Sons

Remember the old television show, My Three Sons? Well, this is the newest edition of "My Two Sons!" (Disclaimer: this goes against everything my mother ever taught me regarding boasting/bragging. Sorry, mom.) I thought it appropriate to write about my two boys for several reasons.

First of all, they're my boys and I love 'em! They have both played long and hard on their separate baseball all-star teams this summer. And as baseball sometimes goes, they both had games last night. Both their teams lost last night, which means...they are both finished with baseball. Well, at least for a while!

They are a funny pair.

Big C has brilliant red hair, stands nearly taller than I do and can pitch an insanely fast ball. He's 12. It seemed we had to re-iterate that fact several times to people during Little League this year because he stands taller than any other kid at his level. He will be going into the 7th grade this fall. He always gives us many reasons to be proud.

Then there's Middle C. His hair is also red, but more of a subtler shade. He is reminiscent of Opie Taylor -- Ron Howard's character on The Andy Griffith Show. Grandma tells him he looks like a young Brad Pitt. Either way, yes, I think he is handsome! He'll be headed for 5th grade this fall. And, I've got to say, the humor inside this kid keeps us laughing every day!

The second reason I wanted to write about them on the blog is regarding the roles they play in our family where diabetes is concerned. Their lives, too, are affected by this disease. A lot of time and attention is given to C because of type 1. And, though it is an intricate part of our family, we strive daily to carry on our normal routines. We never want diabetes to rule whether we do activities or not. But there are times, when it rears it's ugly head at inopportune moments. My boys have seriously never once grumbled about the "diabetes-interrupted" times. A low may need to be treated when heading out the door. Or, maybe the low happens at the end of a baseball game when the team is heading to the local pizza parlor. And, we just need to sit and be patient while C struggles to feel better. Diabetes is demanding. And it's demanding on all of us, including my two sons.

They support our efforts in raising awareness and raising funds for the JDRF. They participate in walks. They've attended Family Camp Days to learn more about diabetes. They were so excited this past May, when we set up a Sno Cone sale at the baseball fields. All proceeds will be going to our walk team. At one point during the day, they took over running the booth with some of their baseball buddies!

Big C recently wrote a paper all about type 1 diabetes and how his sister deals with it all. I was so touched...I posted it back in May. It shows how much he knows about this disease, more so than many people. It also shows that he doesn't take it lightly.

The last reason I wanted to write about my two sons in this post is to highlight one other thing they do in the fight against diabetes. They both participate in TrialNet. It's the ongoing trial to find answers from lab work gathered by siblings and cousins of type 1 kids. And, although they aren't jumping up and down with excitement to get their blood drawn yearly, they do it because it's what they can do to make a difference. I'm proud of them for that!

My two sons...