When we moved out here I never imagined that we'd ever host an informal family gathering. I knew we'd have visitors, certainly, but casual family dinners? I thought those were a thing of the past.
But Andrew has a cousin who lives in Raleigh and we've had them over three times now...which really isn't a great track record considering we've lived here three years. But still.
About five months ago, Andrew's cousin Scott—or, rather, his wife, Angel—had a baby boy and we had never met him so I messaged Angel to see if we could get together for dinner sometime. She messaged back to say that would be great and that Scott's parents (Andrew's aunt and uncle) were going to be in town in May. She originally suggested May 24th but I said I was going to be 39 weeks pregnant then and didn't know that I would up to hosting a dinner, so she suggested May 3rd instead.
It's been on our calendar for quite a long time. And then Grandma asked if she could come that very same weekend, so it all worked out perfectly (and not only because Grandma got to see her brother, but also because she cooked (which meant I didn't have to))!
Angel commiserated with me about gestational diabetes because she had it, too.
"You don't look like you'd have diabetes!" she said.
"Well, you don't either!" I said.
But you can't judge a book by its cover, nor can you judge insulin resistance on body type, I guess. You can exercise and eat healthy and still wind up with gestational diabetes (and sometimes type two diabetes in my family) all because of stinky genetics (sorry, children). Just ask my tall, thin, farmer/archer/daredevil of a grandpa. Admittedly, he had a bit of a sweet tooth and he was a sugar beet farmer (coincidence?) but I really don't know how many sweets he ate because my grandma was quite the health nut. Though I really don't know if this was a change she made later in life while trying to manage his diabetes or if she always was that way. I never knew of her to bake anything—not cookies, pie, or cake (maybe a cake once), though her fruit salad was to die for.
Anyway, all I'm saying is that tall, skinny, physically active people who eat vegetables regularly and shudder at the very idea of going through all the work required to bake cookies can get diabetes as well. Trust me.
Rachel loved playing with her little second-cousin; though I think she made his parents a little bit nervous she did a great job with him. She's excited to have a baby in the house full time (and I'm excited for a capable mother's helper this time around)!
Uncle Clark was an immediate hit with the kids; he's a lot of fun. Benjamin didn't take long to learn his name: Unky Cahk! Unky Cahk!
Here's a group picture of everyone but me (Karen asked if it would be okay if some of us were standing in the sun and some in the shade—the answer is...probably not):
And here's one of everyone except for Aunt Lynnea (with the same sunshine problem):
Scott asked us what our plans were after graduation (in a few of years) and we mentioned that we'd eventually like to live abroad again, but that we'd be happy with a job anywhere. He nodded and said that he totally understood that. He met his wife while he was working in Taiwan and they got married there and then lived there for a while before (surprise!) moving to North Carolina. Living abroad is still ordinary, everyday life...but with a hint of adventure at every turn, Scott explained. He said he keeps telling Angel he wants to move abroad again and she's like, "What do you mean? This is abroad for me!"
She doesn't want to move back to Taiwan, necessarily, but he doesn't want to stay here, so he said they just need to move to Africa or something so it can be an adventure for both of them.
It was so fun to get together with family while we're so far away from everyone else!
But Andrew has a cousin who lives in Raleigh and we've had them over three times now...which really isn't a great track record considering we've lived here three years. But still.
About five months ago, Andrew's cousin Scott—or, rather, his wife, Angel—had a baby boy and we had never met him so I messaged Angel to see if we could get together for dinner sometime. She messaged back to say that would be great and that Scott's parents (Andrew's aunt and uncle) were going to be in town in May. She originally suggested May 24th but I said I was going to be 39 weeks pregnant then and didn't know that I would up to hosting a dinner, so she suggested May 3rd instead.
It's been on our calendar for quite a long time. And then Grandma asked if she could come that very same weekend, so it all worked out perfectly (and not only because Grandma got to see her brother, but also because she cooked (which meant I didn't have to))!
Angel commiserated with me about gestational diabetes because she had it, too.
"You don't look like you'd have diabetes!" she said.
"Well, you don't either!" I said.
But you can't judge a book by its cover, nor can you judge insulin resistance on body type, I guess. You can exercise and eat healthy and still wind up with gestational diabetes (and sometimes type two diabetes in my family) all because of stinky genetics (sorry, children). Just ask my tall, thin, farmer/archer/daredevil of a grandpa. Admittedly, he had a bit of a sweet tooth and he was a sugar beet farmer (coincidence?) but I really don't know how many sweets he ate because my grandma was quite the health nut. Though I really don't know if this was a change she made later in life while trying to manage his diabetes or if she always was that way. I never knew of her to bake anything—not cookies, pie, or cake (maybe a cake once), though her fruit salad was to die for.
Anyway, all I'm saying is that tall, skinny, physically active people who eat vegetables regularly and shudder at the very idea of going through all the work required to bake cookies can get diabetes as well. Trust me.
Rachel loved playing with her little second-cousin; though I think she made his parents a little bit nervous she did a great job with him. She's excited to have a baby in the house full time (and I'm excited for a capable mother's helper this time around)!
Uncle Clark was an immediate hit with the kids; he's a lot of fun. Benjamin didn't take long to learn his name: Unky Cahk! Unky Cahk!
Here's a group picture of everyone but me (Karen asked if it would be okay if some of us were standing in the sun and some in the shade—the answer is...probably not):
And here's one of everyone except for Aunt Lynnea (with the same sunshine problem):
Scott asked us what our plans were after graduation (in a few of years) and we mentioned that we'd eventually like to live abroad again, but that we'd be happy with a job anywhere. He nodded and said that he totally understood that. He met his wife while he was working in Taiwan and they got married there and then lived there for a while before (surprise!) moving to North Carolina. Living abroad is still ordinary, everyday life...but with a hint of adventure at every turn, Scott explained. He said he keeps telling Angel he wants to move abroad again and she's like, "What do you mean? This is abroad for me!"
She doesn't want to move back to Taiwan, necessarily, but he doesn't want to stay here, so he said they just need to move to Africa or something so it can be an adventure for both of them.
It was so fun to get together with family while we're so far away from everyone else!
I love your description of tall, thin diabetics!
ReplyDeleteAlso, my mom only baked: for birthdays, for Christmas, or when she had over-ripe bananas, which she turned into banana cookies, not banana bread. Occasionally, we had ice cream on Sunday evenings, but usually if we had ice cream it was not for dessert, it was what we had, with bananas or peaches or strawberries or raspberries. Like it was our dinner. Usually with a slice of bread, too. So, even before she got all health conscious, we did not eat much sugar.
DeleteIn type one diabetes people will actually lose weight and get super thin...so you might be a little odd for type 2, Andrew and I make better physical examples but not totally unheard of. You could go to kazakistan. Seems like Bridget has three friends there right now. That's seems like a lot right? How much longer does Andrew have? I bet you will feel like you are bursting from the seams of that house when he finishes. Crazy how long PhDs take.
ReplyDeleteOh, I know my body type isn't unheard of for diabetes, but it does shock a lot of people to hear I have it. And type one is usually lack of insulin production, right? Not resistance (though type two can eventually turn into lack of production as well). Anyway...
DeleteAndrew has about two years left. He came home a few weeks ago and announced that his advisor told him that if he needed a sixth year she could drum up funding and I was like, "Ummm....but we *won't need* that sixth year, will we?" Because we're totally finishing in five because we are. So...two or three years left.
We're already bursting at the seams over here, living right on top of each other. :) Keeps us close, quite literally.