After Six Days At The Children With Diabetes, Friends For Life Conference - It's Too Quiet.

After a 6 days at the Children With Diabetes, Friends For Life conference (aka, #cwdffl16,) in Orlando - it's too quiet. 
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My Children with Diabetes, Friends For Life, green bracelet - otherwise
known as my talisman of hope~

It's too quiet.
No green and orange bracelets at every turn.
No Laura sailing through the hallways giving hugs or Jeff capturing memories with his camera.
No talking to strangers with green or orange bracelets, Who become friends you hug hello.
When my pump and alarm went off yesterday, nobody said,"is that me or you?"
No one to have dinner with and talk about the day; the night, the daily sessions, pool shenanigans, the parks and everything in-between.
No one walking up to you (or vice versa,) and starting a conversation just because you're wearing a green or orange bracelet.

No one to say: Are you OK? 

When I walked through Orlando airport on Monday, it was too quiet - even though it was jam packed.
No green or orange bracelets to be found - no matter how hard I looked.
Not even a lone test strip on the ground - and that bummed me out.


And I drank my coffee in silence in terminal 30 something - and not one person said hello.
It felt like the loneliest place on earth.... because it was.
And as far as I'm concerned, Orlando International Airport on the day I leave Children with Diabetes, Friends For Life conference, will always be the loneliest place in the world.

I'm home now, but I'm not.

This morning I looked down at my meter and didn't like the number, and nobody was there to say "it's OK."

No sessions that made you feel like you weren't the only one.
No friends running down the halls of the Marriott to hug you because it's been 365 days since the last time you saw them - or two hours.
No chocolate covered strawberries. 

No friends I've known forever, but are meeting for the first time in real life at the hotel lobby bar.
No friends I've just met during the conference - but feel like I've known forever.
No little girls running up and shouting: Mommy, her got a green bracelet like mine!
No carb counts already calculated at every meal.
No yearly Mojitos with friends who are family.

No "me too's." 
No people who "get it."
(SIGH)


It's too quiet.

And I can't wait for #cwdffl7