Our Diabetes Christmas Tree

Tis the season.

Our Christmas Tree materialized in the living room a couple weeks ago. The burnt out strings of lights have since been replaced, ornaments are hanging tight, and the angel is lounging from a looking spot at the top. Our Diabetic Spirit is also singing strong as the D-Supplies have also made their entrance for the second year in a row. More spirited than last year's debut D-Tree, but some of the regular fixtures have returned.

• Pump tubing tinsel, hanging again without worry of being yanked loose by a jumping dog or sneaky aggressive doorknob. Plus a Glucose Tablet on a pump tube string. And a nearby emtpy One Touch Ultra Blood Test Strip Vial being recycled for D-Tree use!
• We have the controversial Sugar-Free Chocolate M&M from year's past. Yes, it is sugar-free despite claims to the contrary. Two other ornamenty versions of the bite-sized candies dangle nearby, fully capable of claiming the sugar-saturated status unlike their sugarless neighbor. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
• Lancets, in the form of a hanging lancet ninja star on a string, er, piece of pump tubing. Because really, if you aren't going to change them regularly, you might as well get some good decorating use from them.
• Reservoir and infusion set combo. They're always connected to me, so by extension they have a place on the D-Tree. Nuff said.
• Old insurance cards on pump tubing string. I keep all my expired insurance cards, and am now making use of them creatively.
• A Green Pickle. Pickles are yummy treats for many in the Diabetes Community, but this ornament actually stems from an inside-joke between a group of friends. We all went camping one summer years ago and rented a pontoon boat that was green, and thus we named it the Green Pickle. Tree ornaments for everyone ensued, and still decorate our tree.
• Mug O Beer. I do love my beer. No Christmas is complete without it. Cheers!

We have many other ornaments, but these are some fun central ones higlighted for this post.

Already, the Christmas Kitten Shadow is guarding from the nearby couch arm and stays alert in a purring slumber, making sure the seasonal goodies aren't disturbed by Dog or Man or anyone else.

Now, this D-Tree may not be a Little Charlie Brown Christmas Tree. And our pets may not be the real Garfield or Odie But hey, it's the Hoskins Family, with all the trimmings to compliment our lives and Hoosier Household. We proudly mark the season in our own ways, and love doing it.

We even have some carb-worthy snacks to celebrate the holidays! Mmmm.

So, we're very excited about the holiday being here and being able to see and spend time with family and friends. All D-Life aspects aside, it's a time to remember what we have and how lucky we are in life.

Here's to December and Christmas 2010!