Diabetic Ice Cream Social Is Back!

August 4th marks the second annual world-wide Diabetic Ice Cream Social!! Celebrating life, independence, creativity, and, of course, diabetes, the 2nd annual social has a very clear purpose: to show the world that people with diabetes can and will eat ice cream (or anything else they want, for that matter). The event is to happen August 4th, anytime, anywhere.

Too many times I have been told that my son cannot, or should not, eat this or that because it contains too much sugar. After six and a half years with type 1 diabetes, even people in our extended family will still ask me, "Can he eat this?" before serving him a piece of birthday cake at a family celebration. His standard response, "As long as I tell my pump," does not always resonate with them, no matter how many times he says it. Nor do my more detailed explanations of how with diabetes he must count carbohydrates, not sugar, and that he can essentially eat anything he wants, whenever he wants, as long as we bolus for the appropriate amount of insulin. Will we be eating ice cream on the 4th? You can count on it!!

For more info, there is a Facebook page created specifically for this event, and it can be found here. I have taken this event description directly from the Facebook site: 

"This event is meant to showcase that we can LIVE, and THRIVE as Diabetics, and enjoy ourselves... That we do not have limits on life, and that we can live within our boundaries of moderation, education, and common sense. CELEBRATE your life every day... And laugh in the face of ignorance. 


It doesn't matter how you eat your ice cream... Have one scoop or two, if you please, have it sugar free if you must, you can certainly have it low carb, or lactose free, or made with almond milk, you can have it be made of fruit, or a sorbet... Heck, you can even have a different treat, altogether, if you don't even like ice cream! :) (But try to have something that you typically would enjoy, and people would wrongly 'police' you and tell you that you can't eat it.) The point is... WE DIABETICS ARE CREATIVE, SAVVY, AND WE HAVE OPTIONS... AND WE KNOW OUR BODIES. 


And NO ONE should tell us what we can, or cannot eat. We CHOOSE what we want to eat, and what we can handle... And we have glucose meters, and a vast array of glucose control tools to help us make our decisions!"


Thanks to Lizmari, Katrina, Debbie, Michelle, Lara, and Britt for organizing this terrific event!

And feel free to "friend" me on Facebook (Jen Leslie Aragon) so I can add you to the invite list!