Blue Monday -- Dog Planter

Sally over at SmilingSally is hosting Blue Monday where you post something blue to your blog. I was going to post my animal planters this week anyway so today I'll share the only blue one. (You can click on the picture to see a larger version.)



Last month, and I don't know the exact date, made it thirty years since I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. I spent over a week in the hospital back then, watching films and reading books and pamphlets about the disease, learning how to give myself insulin injections and how to follow a diet that excluded all of my favorite things: cookies, donuts, candy, regular soda, maple syrup, bubble gum and chocolate. A family that we knew because my sister and I went to school with the daughters and our moms were friends, sent me this doggie planter while I was in the hospital. It came with a small palm in it, which died years later because someone forgot to consistently water it. If you look close, you can see where I glued the dog back together after it broke when I knocked it off a shelf once.

I've held on to this planter over the years because I love dogs and after the palm died, it was good for storing pens and pencils. But sometimes I look at it and it hits me how long I've had diabetes. I honestly thought I'd live about ten years with the disease and that would be it. (Which makes you wonder just what was in those pamphlets I read while I was in the hospital!) Knowing that I've had diabetes for two thirds of my life now just amazes me and I'm glad I still have this little blue doggie planter to remind me of that.

You can see who else is joining in on Blue Monday here.

(For Connie, Randi, MaryAnn, Neil and Mrs. Hart.)