You've Got Mail!

She was 480 this morning.

I mean...not this morning when she woke up. She was 480 at school, before PE.

I was in my PJ's, contemplating a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast while pondering dinner. I worked last night, have some emails to return, and an Animas post to write...basically I was just getting my day figured out when the phone rang.

Throw on jeans, tuck hair behind ears, add a little blush and a dab of lip gloss...I'm seriously getting to old to make myself look "spontaneously fresh" first thing in the morning. Anyway, I just got home from changing her site and filling her pump up with new insulin.

And I'm reminded, once again, that insulin is NOT a cure.

But back to the mailbox...

We applied -- for the FOURTH time -- to attend the 2013 JDRF Children's Congress this summer. Okay, technically she was a few measly days shy of the 4-year-old age requirement when we applied in 2007, but whatever.  

2007 -- "Thank you for applying."
2009 -- "Thank you for applying."
2011 -- "Thank you for applying."

Which brings us to 2013.

I debated applying over and over in my mind. One day, I was gung-ho, and the next I wondered if it would be better to put it off another couple years. It's been harder to deal with rejection with each passing year, and I honestly just wasn't sure if either of us were up for it right now. I wavered long enough that I was left with three days to make a final decision.

Then Hurricane Sandy hit, forcing JDRF to change the deadline.

Which, basically, gave me more time to oscillate as I watched the horrible after effects of Sandy unfold in the media, while trying to escape the political climate of the 2012 Presidential Election.

Before I knew it, the deadline extension was looming, and I couldn't stagger any longer.

Either apply or don't, Wendy.  That's all there is to it.

Period.

So...we sat down together and drafted a letter.  We talked about the election and the types of powerful decisions that are made in Washington DC.  We talked about where insulin technology has been and where it's going.  We talked about the relationship between Celiac and Type 1 Diabetes.  Then we filed our application, and agreed that, no matter what, we'll keep our heads held high.

The automated email reply said we should hear confirmation by "early January 2013".

January came...and January went.

Almost.

One day late last week, I sent an email inquiring about the notification letters.  The reply informed me that our letter was being mailed soon, mentioned something about the possibility of a phone call, and apologized that more information couldn't be provided.

A call?

That's curious.

Then I read this post by Moira after it popped up on my FB newsfeed yesterday.

The letters were really on their way.

I happened to be outside when the mailman arrived.  I walked over to see if he had filled our mailbox, and that's when I saw the blue letter return address peeking out from beneath a circular of store ads.  He handed me our mail, and I picked it out immediately.

It was heavier than a single sheet of paper.

I held it up to the light.

Something was different.

I'm very familiar with the JDRF logo, and could tell something about the logo on one of the pages was different.

I handed our pile of mail back to the mailman, and told him my husband would collect it when he got home from work.

He stared at me like I was nuts, but I wanted Mr. Rose to check it out to see what he thought before sitting her down to open it...

PS  (She'll always be "Sugar" here...even though you know her real name now!)