Girls' Night Out

I belong to a movie club. It's nothing formal. It's just a small group of my friends, all moms, who enjoy a girls' night out about once a month. We see a chick flick and eat popcorn for dinner. 

Last night, we saw The Last Song, and when I returned home around 9:30 p.m., though bedtime was nearing, and though the show was a real tear-jerker, I felt refreshed.

For me, this club is about so much more than catching the latest blockbuster. It's about escaping. On movie nights, I have three to four D-free hours with no highs, no lows and no shots or anything else related to diabetes to worry about.

I'm the only D mom in the group, and the pre- and post-show conversation rarely turns to my son's condition.

Now, don't get me wrong. I treasure my D friends, I love spending time with them, and I gain so much from talking about diabetes with them. The connection we have is like no other. It's invaluable to me.

But on movie nights, I get a break. I don't have to talk about diabetes. I don't have to worry about diabetes. I don't have to think about diabetes at all. I can just immerse myself in the story and enjoy my popcorn...without counting the carbs.

And, while I'm out with the girls, Gregg is at home with the kids, and he counts the carbs. He checks Jack's sugars, manages the numbers, gives the shots and so on. (He also makes dinner, does the dishes, bathes the kids and puts them to bed. If I'm lucky, he does the laundry, too.)

Most nights, Gregg does those things any way. He's an involved, hands-on dad. Diabetes isn't my job. It's not his job. It's our job. We parent together. We wrangle the D monster together.

Gregg gets movie nights, too. He sees the bloody, violent, action-packed shows that don't interest me with a good friend, whose wife happens to be the organizer of my movie club. And on those nights, I do it all.

We have our movie date nights, too, but those nights aren't so carefree, as we get calls and text messages from the babysitter, which we actually prefer.

But getting back to my point...

Diabetes is all-encompassing. It's overwhelming. It's stressful. It's exhausting. It's a 24/7 job with no time off.

My movie nights give me some much-needed respite. They provide me with downtime from D.

I love girls' night out! I love my movie club!