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I cannot believe it is only one month until the debut of Team Ninjabetic walking at the JDRF Walk for a Cure. 

More and more people are signing up to walk and many more people are coming to the party afterwards! I could not be happier.

If you are planning to come and walk with me, please make sure you sign up for Team Ninjabetic if you haven't yet. If you are not walking with us but would like to come to the party, please let me know so I can have enough food and diet soda pop.

Those of you who cannot make it are going to have a way to get involved if you want. More on that soon.

The plans are coming together nicely and I am pretty sure it is going to be a good time! Hope you can make it!

I have not been this excited about a post in a long time. One, because Diabetes Art Day is just awesome and two, it is the first time my wife and kids have written something for this blog.

All 4 us sat down with pastels, paint, and pencils and made our art on Sunday. Enjoy!

"Pain" by George S. Simmons

This was the first art project I have done in a long time. I didn't trust myself to come up with anything worth while. I went back to one of the very first things you do as a child, and I traced my hand. As as I was done the rest just sort of happened. With each push of color into another I loved it more. The evidence of diabetes is there if you look close enough, and yes, it hurts.

"Fighting Florals" by Gillian R. Simmons

My piece represents the management of diabetes in general. The flowers on the left and right of the piece represent toes feet/legs eyes and your life, all things that can be effected if you don't take care of your self. The green figure in the middle represents diabetes. The black lines moving towards the left are your struggles as a diabetic. There are more on the left because that side represent what its like if you don't do anything and then diabetes (the weed) will take away your toes feet or legs sight and then wipe out your life. The flowers on the right only are tangled in little weed because even though they manage it, issues may come along the way.

I had a lot of fun doing this art project with my mom brother but especially my dad. Looking over at his piece made me understand how really difficult it is for him which only inspired me more with my artwork! I thought a lot of him and all his friends who have to go through this every day too, which inspired me to put some weed on the side that says controlled because no matter what you will have struggles, not only in diabetes but in life as well.

 "Emotions of a Type 3" by George D. Simmons

aka "Dook"

My painting expresses the emotions of a type 3 throughout a day to day bases. Whether it be a serious low or my simple everyday thoughts, my mindset is constantly expressing the symbols in my painting. When my father first came to me with this painting project, I had no idea what affect it would have on me. At first I thought that this would be pointless for me because I don't [know] the first thing about how type one diabetes really feels. So, with that I instantly got "painter's block." Then my dad told me to draw about how I feel about diabetes from a type three's perspective. Instantly, the chains broke loose and I began to draw. My emotions were running high and I felt safe, overwhelmed, and terrified all at once. These emotions are represented by each figure in my drawing. First, the water tower with the effluence of water coming out of the cracked side represents my dad. Like the cracked water tower, my dad is constantly dealing with diabetic complications and some of those complications can be a burden on us. This burden is symbolized by the glowing stick figure trying to keep his balance while water is being poured endlessly on him. That stick figure is me and the glowing light surrounding that figure represents my purity by not having diabetes. I struggle to help my father with his diabetes, but even though I don't have it doesn't mean I won't get it. This emotion ties to the demon on the right with fire surrounding him while he is yielding his bow and arrow. That demon symbolizes diabetes and represents the fear in the back of my head of myself becoming diagnosed. Though as I worry about myself, and struggle to hold my dad up, I am never doing it alone. I will and have always had God by my side. God, in this picture, is represented by the large hand pushing it's way through the clouds to slow down the water, help me up, and block the demon's arrow. So, overall, with God next to me every step of the way, I will never let diabetes overcome my dad or myself.

Drawing about how I felt about diabetes was new, interesting, and most of all relieving. Usually I express my emotions by writing or listening to music. So it was interesting and was also a challenge because I don't draw that much and I found it almost more relaxing than writing a song. With a song, you can only say so much, but with a picture you can let your mind explore different ways to express feelings by different images. I guess that's where the saying,"A picture's worth a thousand words," gets it's meaning. Even though the meaning behind my drawing is somewhat sad the process was still a load of fun. I was getting my hands dirty with pastels and was finding the inner artist inside me without the urge of cutting my ear off. Anyway, it gave my family a chance to get away from any electronics and have fun doing something totally different and meaningful. I definitely wouldn't hesitate to do this again. 

 "You Are My Sunshine" by Jasmine R. Simmons

Each piece of my drawing holds a specific meaning. The sunburst represents my husband, George, a person with type 1 diabetes. He is my sunshine. The red-colored points represent the pain and complications he has to live with daily. The tree with a cross-shaped trunk is a symbol of Christ alive in George and his faith at the center of his being. The red/blue drops symbolize blood and tears. Essentially, with Christ at his center, George is far greater than any pain, blood, or tears. He can overcome all obstacles through the strength and courage that comes from His love. 

"Fifty at Four" by George S. Simmons

I think the title alone explains the meaning of this piece. Although it seems cut and dry, to those who do not have diabetes this picture would just look like a house with it's light on. We know what is going on inside. Sweat, fear, anger, frustration, tears, chills, food, worry. Some of those. All of those. Others. That light on is something we all have experienced and will probably experience again, unfortunately. 

A few strokes of blue at the very top of this canvas and this idea came to me. Like a light bulb. I have not painted anything like this in a long time and it felt good to make it. What made it even more meaningful is that early Monday morning I had a low and while I was sitting at the dining room table eating waffles my wife made, I looked at this painting as it was drying in front of me, and I stared in that window. It was overwhelming and yet freeing at the same time.

I am already looking forward to next years Diabetes Art Day. Thank you so much Lee Ann for planning this day!

This is the first clip I have ever chosen with nudity in it. By nudity I mean this crazy dude's bottom, from far away (thankfully). 

It was just too funny not to share.

Enjoy!

Last night was a good night.

I had the best time working with my family on our Diabetes Art Day projects.

Hopefully by now you have heard about this awesome event going on all over the Diabetes Online Community. And if you haven’t you need to read this post from Lee Ann Thill.

I should tell you that I had no clue what to do for this day but I did know that I wanted to do something. I never studied art but whenever I had an assignment in school to do something artsy, I always loved it.

My daughter Gillian has always loved and enjoyed art. She likes to paint, draw, color, and even do abstract sort of things out who knows what. She has a good eye for color and her brain works in a way that is so different that I enjoy hearing her interpretation of things. She is our little Monet.

Yesterday we went to the Wal-Mart (Yikes, that store is insane) and picked up a couple of small canvases and some paint brushes. Gillian has water colors, acrylics, and pastels at home. The entire time we were in the store and in line, I was trying to decide what I was going to do. Still nothing came to my head.

When we got home we laid out all of our supplies and I sat there with a sketch pad sheet in my hand. Staring at the blank space before I attempted to let my mind drift and let my pencil start to draw but I could not bring myself to put the tip of the pencil on the paper. It was awful. I was stuck and I hadn’t even started!

I went back to Lee Ann’s blog since she is the originator of Diabetes Art Day and thought I would check around on her site for some help, and did I ever find it!

Check out these posts!

So You Say You Aren’t An Artist?

Extra Inspiration

After reading those posts I realized that I just needed to start and see what happened. The belief that what ever you make is art and it’s exactly what it is supposed to be was the way I always felt but for some reason I was going in with the thought that it had to be perfect. It turns out that whatever you make is perfect. Even if what you ended up with is not what you meant to. I think there is a reason for that if you look inside deep enough.

So first I started with pastels and I loved getting my fingers into the art. Rubbing and blending colors made my brain come alive. I was so inspired and excited and really loved how what I made came out. It felt so good and it felt so simple. The image poured out of me. I stepped back and looked at it and searched for the flaws. There were many.

I saw lines that spilled into other lines, things looked messy and some of the color was way too dark for what I wanted. I was upset.

Gillian looks at it and say, “I love it! It came out perfect.”

She was right. It did. I saw it again and my eyes just took it all in. The process, the inspiration, the reason. All of it was there and it was perfect.

All 4 of us made something and I went so far as to break out some paints and do something else. I want to do more tonight. Being able to create art is such a good feeling because you get something out that wasn’t in you and you learn a little something about yourself in the process. So awesome.

Anyhow, I hope you all participate and those of you with families, have them hop in too. I learned a lot of how my family deals with my disease and the fears they have about it. It was extremely eye opening and lead to some serious conversations about diabetes. 

Last night was a good night.

Please participate, there is a point.

Take a nice deep breath. As deep as you can.

Now let it out slowly.

Again, a nice slow breath in.

And now out, slowly.

In again.

Feel the cool clean air in your lungs.

And now out.

Feel how relaxed you are knowing you are getting fresh air!

Tomorrow I am going to celebrate 4 years of smoke free breathing. A big hug to all of you who have also quit and those of you who still smoke, know that I never thought I could quit, but I did.