You say it's your birthday....

My birthday is coming up on Friday. I'll be 41 years old. I count my number of years as a diabetic by how old I am, and I am pretty sure I was five years old when I was diagnosed, so this will make 36 years of having diabetes. (My older brother insists I was four years old, however, so it may actually be 37 years.)

My birthday and Christmas are the two times of year when I throw caution to the wind and eat anything and everything I want. Now, if you read my "why I don't low-carb" post, I said that I pretty much eat that way anyway. But actually, I try not overdo it most of the time. Except on my birthday and Christmas. And actually, I don't even do it that much at Christmas, because I generally don't enjoy parties, and if I don't go to Christmas parties, then there's no temptation.

I once went to a chocolate buffet for my birthday. It had been a very tough time for me that particular birthday; my beloved cat had just passed away suddenly and unexpectedly, and then a couple of days later I got yelled at by my landlord for having a messy apartment. So I figured I deserved a treat.

To my surprise, there was actually sugar free chocolate at the chocolate buffet! This helped me feel less guilty. Granted, I did wake up the next morning with a blood sugar somewhere around 17 (that would be around 300 for the Americans.)

I'd like to go to the chocolate buffet again this year, but I think I'll try to opt for a lower-fat supper (I had fish and chips for supper the night of the chocolate buffet, and the fat content prevented the chocolate from raising my blood sugar right away) and I might have to get up a few times during the night to check my blood sugar in order to prevent it from going up as high as it did the first time I went. And maybe I'll have more of the sugar-free chocolate this time.

I'm not recommending that any diabetic go to a chocolate buffet or go overboard on their birthday. Going overboard is definitely not healthy. But I think we all deserve a treat now and then, and what better time for a treat than your birthday?