Happy belated Thanksgiving to all of you and your loved ones! This year, my second Thanksgiving with a diagnosis of Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) proved another difficult feat, with another year of carbohydrate filled goodness that is a Goldman holiday.

I’m not complaining, just wishing for a working pancreas, or even a bionic one (hint hint wink wink). Anyways, I digress. Like every other year my amazing chef of a mom made a scrumptious sweet potato concoction,  brussels sprouts, stuffing, roasted veggies and of course my dad made the turkey. Not to mention my grandma’s infamous stuffed mushrooms and baked brie. When I say baked brie, I meant hat she literally baked a brie inside of a pastry lined with some kind of sweet and savory filling. I still am not entirely sure what was in that dish, but it was so amazing it doesn’t matter. Thanks grandma!

So, naturally I’ve been coasting on high blood sugar the last three days, coming down every five or so hours only to have a smidge of pumpkin or chocolate pecan pie. Yes, you read that right, my mom’s chocolate pecan pie is so good that one of my cousins wrote a college essay about the dessert. el oh el, classic Greg.

Having a one track food mind, I naturally forgot to take a picture of the table with all of the food, but managed to get a shot in before we destroyed the various pies.

After what I believe is my fourth meal concerning Thanksgiving leftovers, and the continuous highs associated with said diet, I can honestly say that I am missing the old days where I only felt bad about my growing waistline, and not the two arrows pointing up on my glucose monitor showing that my blood sugar is rising faster than Kanye’s ego. I’m reminded of silly worries like what to purchase for my friends for secret santa this year or getting solid grades at the end of the term. Don’t get me wrong, this things still worry me, but now everything pales in comparison to the constant struggle of a day-to-day life with this disease. I am well aware of the plethora of diseases and medical issues out there that are far worse than mine. I know thousands, probably millions also struggle with T1D, but all of these factors do not make me feel better. It drives me into a sort of frenzy thinking of all that can go wrong with the human body. I feel for those worse off than I, not glory in the fact that I was dealt a better hand.

So, this holiday season I am grateful for the family and friends that make me laugh through the highs and lows, and make me remember what it’s like to just not worry for a few hours. Not worry about myself, my health, others, my friends, the world, and just sit back and watch countless hours of What Not To Wear. Because if there’s one thing I know for sure, it’s that Clinton and Stacey are singlehandedly made the world a prettier place.