merit badges earned.

 

Recognize Victories. Consider Lightness. Celebrate Courage. Embrace Kindness. Aim for Grace. 

For quite a long time I've been thinking about how I'd like to have a way to acknowledge all the small milestones of living with this disease. Little markers, badges if you will, that are earned every day, every hour, every minute, by countless people living with chronic illness. Merit badges to acknowledge all the grace in light of struggle, the courage in light of unending challenge, the everyday victories people with chronic illness have every day. The older I get the more I'm convinced of the importance of celebrating and marking them in some small way. Because of my love for all things girl scout, what came to mind was a token, a kind of merit badge for all the small milestones we achieve. I thought about how great it would be to give a physical acknowledgment to someone when they needed a little boost or vote of confidence. A nudge to say yes, I see what you face and I think you've earned some recognition, you are a hero in my eyes. And then I thought about how nice it would be to receive something like this from someone else. Moments marked by love and of bearing witness, of being seen. Moments where the tiny milestones are acknowledged.

At first I thought I'd have them embroidered so that a person could sew them inside their coat jackets or purses to remind themselves quietly of their own courage and grace. But then I thought it might actually be better to wear them with pride, for all the world to see. My thought was that in sharing them outwardly, not only do we acknowledge to the world (and ourselves) what we've accomplished, we also invite others to consider these ideas in the broader sense. Consider Lightness. Celebrate Courage. Embrace Kindness. It occurred to me that the world might actually be a better place if everyone recognized their own everyday victories, as well as those of others, just a little bit more. Aim for Grace.

So I got myself a badge machine and made some merit badges for fun. It's helped to take words and concepts and make them tangible and real. To see and touch the ideas change them somehow. For me and for others. A case in point happened the other day after my not so happy doctor's appointment. I was feeling down and beating myself up a bit and my husband looked at me with love in his eyes and simply said, "recognize the victories". It made me pause. It stopped me from beating myself up further. The words felt more real somehow. Was it because I could actually hold the idea in my hands? 

Regardless, that's what I wish for us all. I send out these ideas out to you, because everyday we deserve recognition for what we've earned in doing what we do. With courage and grace. With kindness and lightness. Because everyday there are victories to be noticed and celebrated, every single day, for all of those who just deal. For everyone who just keeps at it. For all the people who keep showing up in spite of and because of diabetes. 

Comments

[amylia grace]

Birdie,

These are just right! Beautiful and inspiring and just what I needed after this struggle with depression I've been having lately. I finally feel the veil lifting, but this lovely post is just what I needed tonight. ((thank you))

[Joy Renee]

What an awesome concept!!

Thanks for this post. It really lifted me out of my funk. I'm so homesick this week and still unable to set a date to go home. I've been staying at my Mom's since just before New Year's helping my younger sister during Mom's hip surgery and mild stroke recovery.

Mom and I are both visually impaired so at times I feel the burdens I add on the family outweigh the benefits of having me here. For example: I smacked my shins on the dishwasher door the third day and ended up in ER a week later with an infected leg and had to go on antibiotics and keep my foot elevated above heart level for a week.

I still do some kitchen chores but after the second time I kicked the dishwasher door my sister got her gardening kneepads and had me wear them on my shins whenever I'm on KP.

I committed to stay until Mom is walking sturdy without the walker and thus able to be left home alone for short periods while my sister runs errands.

And of course, once I do leave here, I'll still be homesick. For here.

BTW I found my way here looking for pictures of sweet peas. My sister wants me to embroider a sweet pea vine on one of Mom's sweaters to cover some faded spots she caused while removing a stain. I can't use the picture from your farmer's market visit except to remind myself of the color schemes but it was gloriously beautiful.