The Metro. No big deal, right? I've taken the subway in NYC plenty of times. When I was in college outside of Boston I took the T all the time. Easy peasy. But I can't help thinking of the last time I took the Metro.
It was last spring when I was in D.C. for JDRF's Government Day. A group of us had gone out to dinner. Bolusing for a restaurant meal is always a bit of a crap-shoot for me, but as always I did the best I could. After dinner we decided to walk around a bit to explore the area. By the time we reached the Metro station I was feeling funny, so I tested even though my CGM showed me in range. It turns out I was dropping really fast. I started chomping on glucose tabs as quickly as I could.
We approached to ticket machine, figured out which trains we needed to take to get back to the hotel, and everyone started to buy their passes. I stood there with a fist full of dollars and was totally confused. "Is this machine impossible to figure out, or am I just really low?" I asked, feeling kind of like an idiot. Luckily, besides my friend Jonathan who is also an adult T1, our group was made up entirely of D-Moms. (Can I just say, D-Moms are the absolute best??) One of them swooped in as I stretched out my palm full of money while mumbling "I have this much, is it enough?". It was enough and my D-Mom Hero bought my pass for me and offered me another snack.Even as an adult, diabetes can make me feel like a four year old at a moment's notice. Thank goodness I can still count on D-Moms to bale me out when I need help!!
I so admire D-Moms...and I know you've got this. Have fun! It sounds like there will be lots of fun and shenanigans!
ReplyDeleteKaren, a couple of suggestions: You can plan ahead by going to the Metro website (http://www.wmata.com/rail/?) and figuring out your fare ahead of time, then setting it aside somewhere so you can access it easily when you get to the station. Also, you can just add money to a farecard pretty easily, and keep using it over and over until it runs out of money. That way, you don't have to find the cash each time you get on the train.
ReplyDeleteI realize that's not the point here, and this tangent is waaay too long, so please forgive me. Have a great trip, and keep those Glucolift tabs handy just in case.
I have downloaded the Metro rail map and checked out the fairs, but I wondered about the farecard - I couldn't quite find a good explaination of it, such as if it expires. So thank you for the tip. I think I definitely will just throw some money on a farecard, I'll be back in DC in March for this years Government Day anyway, so I can use it again then!! Thanks so much for the help.
DeleteI don't remember what it was precisely, but a few days before Roche my unfocused anxiety went all barnacle on some aspect on the logistics. Though an adult, I had to go on the FB group and say, basically, I don't know how this works and I know I could go READ about how it works but I'm really anxious about how it works and I need y'all to TELL me how it works.
ReplyDeleteAnd you know what? They told me how it works. :)
Have a great trip. :)
Have a great weekend!
ReplyDeleteHave a great trip!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your trip. Looking forward to hearing all about it!
ReplyDeleteI think this post is a perfect example of how a low blood sugar can mess up our brains at a moments notice. Nothing makes sense.
ReplyDeleteSo glad you were with people who knew what to do.