old/new friends

Can you spot the diabetic in this photo?

I'll give you a hint.

plot twist!

Backstory time! In 2005, L went by a slightly unusual nickname. And there was another girl in her preschool class with that EXACT SAME slightly unusual nickname. They were pals but not BFFs and after they graduated to different kindergartens, they lost touch. Jump to earlier this year, when a good friend of L's at school mentioned a longtime family friend of hers who was just diagnosed with diabetes. Would you believe? It's the same-nickname preschool pal! Except now they're both 12 and prefer to go by their mostly different given names, even though you wouldn't blame their moms if sometimes they accidentally called them by that old nickname because that's what they were called for the first 8 years of their lives, I mean, come on people, I'm not made of stone!

eating ice cream with the friend that reunited them

So when my dad found out that another kid from L's preschool class had been diagnosed with diabetes, he said, "Hoo boy, I'd be checking into that. It can't be just a coincidence, right?" And while I don't deny there are serious questions to be raised about clusters of diabetes diagnoses in some towns, I don't view two kids with diabetes from the same preschool as a cluster. I view it as statistically inevitable. Studies show that 1 in 80 people are diagnosed with diabetes every day in the US. In fact, whenever a friend contacts me with the news that someone they know has been diagnosed, I am no longer surprised. In the past 2 years I have heard from no less than four friends who have a personal connection to people whose kids have been diagnosed. I feel empathy, but not surprise, when I hear of another family that has joined our ranks.

Some might call it bad luck that two kids from the same preschool ended up with diabetes. I think it's good luck, because these two girls, who started out as preschool pals at age 5 with the same unusual nickname, are now 12 and have discovered that they have far more in common than diabetes. They have the same silly sense of humor and love of the absurd. They spend much of their time telling anti-jokes such as, Q: What's green and has wheels? A: Grass. I lied about the wheels, and torturing L's sister about her love of a certain boy band. Wait, not my L. The other L.

Which brings us to the delicate topic of addressing L's new friend on this blog. You see, her name starts with an L! It could get quite confusing. And who wants to be known as "the other L" anyway? So her mom suggested I use an old family nickname when I post about her here. And so I shall. Dear readers, it is my pleasure to introduce you to Pip. She will probably pop up here from time to time. Right now she's away at her first D camp, along with L (Pip got bottom bunk; L got top). I expect them both to come back with tales of adventure and intrigue, and stinking to the high heavens. But for now, here's a photo taken when they were well-rested and freshly showered.

And thanks to Pip's mom, we have this great photo of the girls when they were in preschool together.

L - back row, far left

Pip - front row, far left