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| This pic was taken on the road from CWD Focus On Technology - The next Green Bracelet shot will be taken AT CWD FFL 2012!!! |
So a few years back I wrote about how Orlando Airport was the loneliest place on earth after spending just one day at Children With Diabetes Friends For Life Conference and how having to leave made me burst into tears at the airport.
My Friends For Life green bracelet became my talisman, my touchstone and my holy grail all rolled into one and I vowed that I would go back and attend the conference full force and sooner rather than later.
But things with life since my initial FFL post have gotten hectic and crazy - both for the better and the not so. These past 9 months have brought so much change that my head is continually spinning. Good things have happened work wise, but losing my mom, selling her home and dealing with her estate - and all that comes with it, was and is a very tough thing.
BOTTOM LINE: I needed a vacation, BIG TIME.
So what did this grown up girl with a busted pancreas do?
She registered for the 2012 Children with Diabetes Friends For Life Conference that's what she did - And yours truly leaves on Monday afternoon!
And I'm so excited to see old friends and meet new ones, and just have a blast!
I'm going home again - And that means the world to me, especially this time around.
I'm also a little nervous in #abutterfliesinmystomach type of way and I'm not really sure why.
Maybe it's because I've been wanting to do this for quite sometime and I'm finally doing it. Or maybe it's because it's the first time in a very long time that I'm going vacation all 'Han Solo' like.
Seriously, the last time I went on vacation by myself it was to Eastern European country and that didn't turn out so well.
Seriously, the last time I went on vacation by myself it was to Eastern European country and that didn't turn out so well.
But I'm old enough to realize that butterflies in the belly this time around ='s a very good thing so I'm rolling with it!
And I won't really be alone - I'll be with my friends both old and new and I CAN'T WAIT.
I'll be blogging from the conference and posting pics and I'll wear my green bracelet with pride. And instead of wearing it for just one day, or for 24 hours like I did At the CWD Focus on Technology Conference in February, I'll get to wear my talisman, touchstone and holy grail for almost a week - Along with countless others who speak the language of diabetes without ever having utter the D word - And that my friends is a wonderful thing!
Have fun, Kelly! Enjoy every minute of it! Gosh, I wish we were able to go too. Think of us.
ReplyDeleteCall me when you get back home. We are in OC til the 8th.
Love ya- safe travels!
See you next week :)
ReplyDeleteSad that I can't go this year. Still a FFL virgin. Hopeful that I can attend next year! Have fun!
ReplyDeleteYay!!! I so can't wait!! And what is this nonsense about going on vacation alone?? You will SO not be alone! (If you really do get lonely, I'd be happy to loan out Pete!!)
ReplyDeletemy kid wore her green bracelet for weeks after we got home last year. she had an unofficial challenge with caleb sisto and scott johnson to see who could wear it longer. once it fell off her wrist, she pinned it to her wall where it lives today.
ReplyDeleteKelly, how do you get these unique photos? And how do you remember them months later?
ReplyDeleteI hope you have the time of your life next week. You deserve it.
So AWESOME you will be there! You are totally on the list of people I am beyond excited to meet! :)
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to meet you! Our first CWD FFL. I've been reading your blog for awhile now, been kicking T1D's but for 20 years, dx'd when 19 years old. It is great that CWD welcomes us adult T1s to their world.
ReplyDeleteJason in Orlando
Have a blast! Can't wait to read all about it!
ReplyDelete