To Hogwarts and Back Again

Well, not quite Hogwarts.  Our family went to the Grandover Resort & Hotel in Greensboro on Friday for a JDRF family conference.  JDRF stands for Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.  We had been telling our older kids (I call them The Teens) all week about this, trying to cast the very best light on it, and still met with resistance as we were driving over on I-40.  Maddie couldn’t wait.  She knew that a friend from school, who also has diabetes, was going to be there with her family, and that there was a pool indoors.  Even the pool didn’t seem to be too much of an enticement for The Teens.  But as we rounded the corner, one of The Teens, said, “Is it that castle over there?” And we all turned and said simultaneously, “WOW!”  Someone dubbed it Hogwarts.  It was indeed Grand, with lush interiors, beautiful rooms, lovely pool (but so packed with kids, The Teens refused to swim until late at night:), and good food.  ANY food is good when I have not had to make it.

Coming home late Saturday, my head and heart were full!  Head was full of information, some which I could absorb and some which I could not.  My heart was full from meeting so many people, so many families from across our state who were living with diabetes just like us.  It was encouraging to say the least.  There were blood sugar monitor kits, pumps, insulin shots everywhere.  What has seemed so UNordinary to us in these first weeks was so ordinary there.  Everyone there had walked this path, was walking the path, and facing the future with the same hopes and fears as we were.  We were amazed at this organization called JDRF.  All of what our Maddie receives today, is a direct result of the fund-raising and research that JDRF has done over the years… from the types of insulin, to the blood sugar monitors and test strips, to the knowledge about carbs and exercise, to the pumps, and even to amazing things in the works for the future: a once-a-day insulin (called Smart Insulin), an artificial pancreas, and SO much more.  Incredible things are happening in the research area for Type 1 Diabetes.  We are so thankful to be living in an era where so much is available for Maddie’s health and vitality.

But the icing on the cake was to come home to all your lovely comments and thoughts you left for me in my blog “mailbox”.  I had sent out that last post about Maddie’s quilt just before leaving for Hogwarts the Grandover Hotel, and had no idea so many of you would visit and be moved to comment on that lovely gift.  Your comments were yet another lovely gift to help settle my overwhelmed head and heart.  Thank you so much!

0 thoughts on “To Hogwarts and Back Again

  1. Tracy says:

    I have a friend that has always worked to raise funds for JDRF and I am glad that I now know someone who has benefitted from her hard work and my opportunity to support her

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