Ping!

I picked Lily up from camp yesterday and she was all giggles as usual after a day of Camp Rainbow. We went straight to the movie theater to meet our friends and see "Cars 2." Sidenote: hated it, very violent and I don't like cars anyway....give me a princess and I'll do fine but cars...eh...fell asleep.

Anyway, after the movie, Lilyboo waltzed right on up to me and didn't ask but DEMANDED that I get her an Animas Ping for a week so she can try it out. She wants a Tallygear belt to go with it...with Ariel on it. And a pink pump. Okay...this child...she went from total tomboy and only wearing boys t shirts for a YEAR LONG PHASE and hating pumps to buying pink fedoras, wearing light up sparkly shoes,  playing with babydolls again, and wanting a pink pump. This, by the way, is the Lily I gave birth to. The other Lily (the tomboy) was a new version of that child. She's baaaccckkk!

There is really something to be said for letting your child figure things out on his/her own. I easily could have forced her to wear dresses and to stay on the pump. I was advised by multiple therapists to let her be her own person and find her own way. I was told to support who she is. I was told that this disease is a life time for her and if she needs a break from the pump, give it to her. So, I reluctantly did all of this and the results have been amazing. Let me make something VERY clear...the results are not amazing because she is now doing what I wanted. The results are amazing because my little girl is happy...and well-adjusted...and confident in her own decisions. That is priceless, a truly priceless lesson in life. She is making sound decisions based on her needs. She came to these conclusions of who she wants to be on her own....and got there through love and guidance. Wow. That's just huge to me. I want my children to be strong and independent thinkers. I don't want to have someone make decisions for them their entire lives. I don't want them to rely on mommy and daddy for everything, emotionally and financially. I want them to be self-sufficient contributing women to society. I want them to be bold and brave in their decisions. This is so very important to me.

Now, I must say that diabetes camp can take the credit for the sudden interest in the Ping again. The majority of the kiddos are wearing a pump and Lily doesn't want the Omnipod again. She is actually wearing an infusion site today at camp with the tubing dangling and attached to nothing. She would not take it off this morning. She looks at it and says "Cool." I woke up this morning and she said, "Mommy, I'm super sick." I ran around the corner and she had the tube shoved up her nose like a breathing tube. Oy vey! This child...