So another year at the Chris Dudley Basketball Camp for Children with Diabetes has come and gone. It always takes so long to get here, and then with the snap of a finger it's gone again. But only 50 more weeks until the 2009 edition.
DH came with three new t-shirts (all of which are on our site). Chris even got in the mix and wore his shirts proudly all week. But for us, it was a lot more than getting out there and showing off a few new designs. Tyler and I have been going out to the small logging town of Vernonia (just outside of Portland, OR) for the last 11 years. Tyler said it best when he described our time at Dudley as: "our life with diabetes - we don't know diabetes without this camp." And it's the truth.
As we've grown older, it's great to go back and see our friends every year. Since we have a continent between us (gets tough on us east coasters), this is the one time of the year that we get to see everyone. And there were plenty of surprises all week long.
First off, there weather - never better. Sunny everyday, and the courts heated up to about 85 degrees with zero humidity by 11 am. For a guy living in muggy Florida right now, nothing has ever felt better. Tyler, for his part, got into the warm weather feel with a retro-fitted style - rocking the reissued Oakley Frogskins. I got my tank tops out and helped our boy Chris Yost with his dance version of The Shower while the Burns Family Band rocked the campers out.
What this camp does so well is bring a great sense of community to all its participants. The coaches get to disperse wisdom in all things hoops and the kids take it in. But what always surprises me, year after year, is how much the staff seems to take from the attitudes of the kids. By the end of the week, ten year olds are high fiving 17 year olds, who are high fiving 37 year olds. Everyone just gets along. They don't take the week, or each other, for granted. The kids get a different outlook on life with diabetes, and the coaches (if they ever get the chance to coach a kid who's diabetic) won't even blink an eye.
That's why diabeteshappens makes the trip west every summer. It feels like a modern edition of manifest destiny, coast to coast we're taking over. Diabetics getting together, learning from each other, and having the understanding that life with the 'betes is alright. We never would have been able to go there if it wasn't for this things called diabetes mellitus type 1. We're pretty thankful for having it. We would have missed out on a ton of great friendships otherwise.
