20 years.

20 years ago, I was 25 years old and my son J was 9 months old.

20 years ago, The Yankees won the World Series, the Bulls won the NBA Championship, and the Denver Broncos won the Super Bowl.

20 years ago, Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky were front-page news.

20 years ago, the sitcom Seinfeld played its final episode.

20 years ago, popular movies were Mulan, Rush Hour, and The Truman Show.

20 years ago, the price of a gallon of gas was $1.06

20 years ago, one unit of insulin cost 4 cents. Now it costs over 25 cents a unit.

That same 20 years ago…my baby was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes.

-We almost lost him to DKA.

-We were told a cure would come in 5 years.

-Our lives were set on a new trajectory.

 It’s been almost half my lifetime.

For J? His entire lifetime.

20 years of jabbing, stabbing, worrying, counting, doctoring, checking, changing, and fixing.

20 years of hugging, trying, fighting, loving, shrugging, hoping, and pushing through.

At 20 years old, J is now an adult. He has a beard. He wears an insulin pump in his pocket and a CGM on his arm.

20 years ago I did everything for him.

Today, he does everything for himself.

The past 20 years has brought enormous change. I never would have imagined what was in store for our little family. 

Yet, we keep moving forward. Time does not allow for sitting still. This 20 year anniversary is a testament to that.

20 years ago, on J’s first birthday, I sobbed. Thankful that he had made it his first few months with Diabetes alive.

Today my thankfulness for his life can’t be summed up with words and tears. His life is precious. The gratitude I have rushes through me like a mighty river.

J is one of my greatest blessings. 

He could barely crawl 20 years ago. 

Today, he flies.

Here’s to the first 20 years. 

My son has survived.

Now, my sweet J, it’s time to thrive.

In honor of J’s diagnosis at 9 months old, my friend Mike Lawson will give one of his new picture books to a family who has a child with Diabetes. I wish my children had something like this in their hands when they were diagnosed. To know they weren’t alone, to know that others “check” and “click” too. Please leave a comment below to enter the drawing for Mike's book. It also can be ordered HERE. You can enter for yourself, or nominate another family with a small child with Diabetes.