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These Moms’ Night Out events, put on by Stacey Simms and the team at Diabetes Connections, are exactly what my own mom would have loved to attend back when I was diagnosed in 1986. I know firsthand how much the diabetes community has changed my life for the better. Opportunities to connect with our peers help us live better with this disease, and I’m grateful to see support and camaraderie becoming available and prioritized for everyone affected by diabetes.
I asked Stacey to share some details about the three events taking place in the next few months. I’m especially excited for the October event in Providence, Rhode Island because I’ll be the Saturday morning speaker. I’m hoping my mom will join me for the event!
Here’s more from Stacey, and don’t miss the sign up links in the post!
I missed the moms.
My son is happy and independent, just as we’d hoped when he was diagnosed with type 1 right before he turned two. While I still can’t believe Benny will head off to college this fall, I truly believe all the diabetes camps, family meetups and conferences played a big role in helping us get him ready. This summer he’s away for 9 weeks (!) at “regular” sleepaway camp, working as a lifeguard. He’s having a blast.
But what about me? Even after 16 years of parenting T1D, I find I still want support from the people who get it.
When Benny was little, I used to put together what I called “Technology Nights” for my local moms’ group. I was a blogger, and I knew a lot of the staff at diabetes camp. I used those connections to call up the pump companies – this was before CGM was approved for kids – and invited them to meet up. Someone bought dinner and we mingled. It was fun and educational and made me feel like we weren’t alone.
Why not start that up again? But this time with cocktails!
And just like that, Diabetes Connections Presents: Moms’ Night Out was born.
I took the stuff I liked best from all the events and conferences I’ve attended and put them together. This would be centered around moms. We want to be taken seriously, but we want to have fun. We want to learn how to raise our children with the best technology available while also encouraging independence. We want to find each other and find ways to keep meeting up.
I held the first Moms’ Night Out in Charlotte, NC this past January. I was floored by the response.
One mom sent me champagne to say thank you. Others brought their moms! About 10% of attendees traveled 400 miles or more. I called the first person who registered from out of state to make sure she hadn’t signed up by mistake! Since this is an overnight, quite a few moms grabbed a friend to make it a full weekend getaway. Others came solo and left with new support.
After I shared the photos and stories online, I started hearing from moms from all over the country who want a Moms’ Night Out near them. I’m excited to announce we’re taking the show on the road. We have three more events on the calendar right now and will be adding many more. I’m thinking of this sort of as a concert tour, where we choose new cities each year to reach as many moms as we can.
Come join us! We have a very cool double whammy of goodness going on right now: Early Bird Pricing PLUS pay half now and half later. You don’t need a special code. Just head over to registration, select Early Bird Pricing, and then choose to either pay in full now or make a deposit.
Each stop has different speakers to teach and inspire. You’ll also have a chance to check-in with an endo or educator. We’ll open the sign-ups for these “check-ins” about 8 weeks in advance; space is limited, and you must be registered.
The next dates & speakers for Diabetes Connections Presents: Moms’ Night Out are:
Speakers: Rob Howe from Diabetics Doing Things and another special guest to be announced soon!
“Check-ins” for Frisco are with Stephen Ponder, MD, FAAP, CDCES and the author of Sugar Surfing and Dana B. Roseman, MPH, CDCES, RDN of Integrated Diabetes Services
Speakers: Kerri Sparling, author (of this very blog for ten years!) and speaker who’s lived with T1D for 37 years and Moira McCarthy, author of “Raising Teens with Diabetes,” travel and adventure writer.
“Check-ins” for Providence are with Anna Sabino, MSW, CDCES of Finding Smiles Coaching and JoAnne Robb, MFT of Diabetes Sweet Talk
Speakers and “Check-ins” will be announced soon.
In the meantime, don’t wait for the official Moms’ Night Out! Start your own group, have meet ups and coffees or cocktails or mocktails or dinner. Use diabetes camp as a springboard and back to school to find the moms in your community.
I hope to meet you soon!
-Stacey
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