Lucky Common Ground

Last Saturday, I drove down with my husband, and foster daughter to a wedding that was about 1 hour and 15 minutes away. After the wedding, we headed home but stopped for a quick lunch at a delicious deli place in South Jordan, Utah. We were there for about 45 minutes. We jumped in the car and came home.

It wasn't until that evening that I realized I couldn't find my glucometer. I thought maybe in the craziness of the day it might have fallen out of my bag where I keep all the baby stuff, my wallet and diabetic supplies when we are out and about. I looked everywhere in my car, and then even asked my husband to go look, thinking that I might have missed it. Much to my nervous and anxious chagrin, it wasn't there. I started to freak out a little. I was starting to hate the thought that it might have fallen out of my bag somewhere where the wedding had taken place, or even at the restaurant. Someone could easily pick it up, open it, and not know what the heck it is and throw it away. This wouldn't be a big deal were it not for the fact that my glucometer isn't your run of the mill $20 device you can pick up at any pharmacy and replace. My glucometer works wirelessly with my pump so heaven only knows how much it really costs.

I had Brandon pull up the phone number to the deli only to hear him tell me they are closed Sundays. That would mean not being able to check my blood sugar for another 24 hours. Oy....

I told Brandon that I guessed I would be driving anywhere I called to find it, come Monday.

Monday morning, after my foster daughter's visit with family, I called the deli. As luck (or whatever you call it) would have it, a really cute gal answered the phone:

"Hello?"

"Hey there, I am calling not to order food, but to ask if y'all have a lost and found in the deli?"

"Why yes we do, what is it you have lost?"

"This is going to sound funny, but I lost a little black zipper case."

"Oh, do you mean the diabetic glucometer? What you use to check your blood sugar with? We have it right here! I am a diabetic myself, and all I could think of when I saw that was 'Oh no! Someone will be missing that'! "

"Wow! I am so glad y'all found it! I'm a Type 1 Diabetic, what about you?"

"I'm a Type 1 too. Thank you so much for your help, I will soon be on my way to pick my glucometer up."

"Sure thing! We're open now, so we'll see you soon!"

This was the gist of my conversation with this gal. Though I had never met her, I felt an instant connection to her, because she knew exactly how I felt.

When I got to the deli, she asked me about my glucometer, and I told her how it corresponds to my pump. She thought that was cool, and she showed me her pump, pulling it out of her pocket, just as I pulled mine out of mine. I had never heard of her brand of pump, but it was just a simple and cool feeling all the same.

In a daily life of living with this disease, where it's easy to feel all alone, and like no one understands, it was nice to have this brief yet cool conversation with someone who I share a common ground with. It's a difference about us that brings us together, and helps us understand one another.