Would It Matter

When my doctor informed me that I had Type 2, he said that I'd probably had it "for a while" (maybe years) before it came to light. And sometimes I wonder if there was any way I could have known. How does anyone know, without symptoms? If someone had said to me, "Watch out, you may be diabetic!" -- would I have believed it?

Probably not. When your body works the way it's supposed to, for years and years, you don't expect it to just stop. Especially when you try to live in moderation. And I've never been excessive with food or drink.

Growing up, I learned that alcohol might be a problem. When you see a parent gradually transform over the years from a social drinker to an alcoholic, you might respond in several ways. My brothers ignored it completely, pretending they could not see it. One followed right in Dad's footsteps, getting picked up for DUI.

I took the opposite route, pretty much avoiding the stuff altogether. Too many people try to be social drinkers, only to find themselves slip along the way. I figured it was in my genes, and I wasn't going to risk it. So, I never took a liking to beer or whiskey or vodka. It meant choosing friends who did not drink. It also meant steering clear of bars. For me, that was not difficult. I'd seen too many people lose control in college. (Plus I never smoked.) That whole social scene never appealed to me.

Drugs in general had no appeal. I never wanted to "get high". We had kids in high school who smoked, and everyone knew it. They walked around in jean jackets most of the time, hanging out together, always reeking from the smell. We called them "burn-outs". They seemed to be under-achievers, never applying themselves, putting their heads down in class, trying to coast through the day. School did not seem to matter to them at all.

I could not really understand why my parents, and seemingly everyone they knew, used tobacco. We'd say, "Well, it was their generation. Everyone did it back then. They didn't know any better."

Really? People know better now (you might think) but they still do it anyway. I used to believe that my generation would be different. Maybe they'd make better choices. Not repeat mistakes of the past. Live smarter. Make the world a better place.

But then, as I watched all my schoolmates progress into adolescence and high school, it didn't happen that way. They gravitated toward bad behavior. Seeking thrills. Repeating the mistakes of their parents. Never asking themselves, "Is this a good idea? Won't this hurt me, in the long run? Do I really want to be addicted for the rest of my life?"

I guess they never thought about it. I've always been more contemplative. In some ways, this made me hesitant, weighing decisions more carefully, proceeding with caution. I would double check everything. Taking tests in school, most kids seemed to go through it once, and turn the paper in. I had more of a tendency to budget my time, trying to make sure that I not only completed the exam, but gave myself enough time to go back through every question and recheck all my answers.

Partly this was because early on, I had established a record of getting good marks. (My first set of straight A's came on a report card in first grade.) Once it began, I felt compelled to keep it going. I wanted to succeed. But it always required extra effort. I never had a photographic memory. It meant reading a chapter two or three times, taking books home every night and on weekends. It meant hours spent on homework. Fewer friends and less sleep. But it did enable me to graduate as valedictorian (we had four in our senior class).

The importance of that fades over time. (Especially when you get to college, and everyone you meet says, "Me too!")

So I've always tried to avoid what seemed "bad" for me. Moderation comes into play because, at some point, as an adult, you realize that many people smoke and drink. You cannot simply avoid them or social gatherings where they happen to be. So, once in a blue moon, I've sipped on cold beer. My wife and I often drink a small glass of wine with our dinner. Why? Because it turns it out, in moderation, it's considered good for a healthy heart.

So what else do people crave? Food! Once again, I've always strived to keep my weight within a certain range. So long as I was able to achieve this (and regularly brushed my teeth), a few sweets now and then seemed pretty harmless. (It's hard not to have a sweet tooth when you're raised on Ding dongs, Ho-ho's and Twinkies.) So I ate Snickers bars, Pop-tarts and drank Cokes pretty much whenever I felt like it, "for energy".

If someone had said, "Cut back. It might lead to trouble," I probably wouldn't have taken it too seriously. I would have never guessed that such "harmless behavior" might one day have consequences -- like Diabetes.

And so, here I am.