Welcome! My name is Sally and I am thrilled that you have chosen to visit The Sacred, The South, and Sugar. I hope you will stay a while and join in our story. But first, let me share with you a little bit more about myself and my family.
My husband Scott and I met at a university and never dated anyone else again after our fateful encounter under a live oak tree. We were young and in love, and didn’t think too much about the future until it smacked us in the face in the form of graduations and getting real jobs. While we both planned to move to big cities and have fast-paced lives, Scott graduated first and his new job landed him right back home where we both had sworn we would never return to. I followed (of course) and we were soon happily married in our sleepy little Southern town.
One year turned into two, two into three, and three into fifteen. The town we never wanted to move back to has become our home, and we love the quaint restaurants where the waitress knows our name, the good neighbors who help out at a moment’s notice, and the wonderful connection we have to our friends and family. And we do have a Target, so all is not lost!
After several years of marriage, we decided (ok, ok, I decided!) that it was time to start a family. Most of our friends were having babies by that point, and the baby bug was hitting me hard. Unfortunately, I struggled with infertility for two and a half years. This was an incredibly difficult period in my life where I felt everything was out of my control, that my body was failing me, and that no one else could understand what I was going through.
When I eventually did become pregnant (hooray!), I had a miscarriage at 7 weeks. I wish there was a way to describe the pain and loss that a woman feels when she has a miscarriage, but there are no words. All I can say is that even now, 10 years later, I think about that baby and what might have been.
But a little bundle of blessing eventually did arrive to us in the form of a perfect baby boy we named Hugh.
About 2 years after that, a perfect darling girl, Amelia, joined our family.
We bought a bigger home, got a dog, and settled into a hectic life with two little ones to always keep us busy. This is the time I think of as BEFORE.
In February of 2014, our son Hugh was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. This is the time I think of as AFTER.
Our life changed in such incomprehensible ways with that diagnosis. Not only were we making life and death decisions every day for our 5 year old child, but I was struggling with a God who would give children such a terrible disease. There were some raw, emotional times in that first year, but we made it through stronger and more in love with our little family than ever before. If you would like to read more, check out Hugh’s Diagnosis Story here.
Two years after Hugh’s Type 1 Diagnosis, much to our surprise, we found out I was expecting again. We were scared of course, but I truly felt that God was giving me a gift. Like He was saying, “I know I allowed your son to have diabetes, but here is a little surprise that will make everything better.” Once again, however, I suffered a miscarriage at 7 weeks and my body had a very difficult time recovering from it. Before I knew it, my chances of having other babies were gone and the large family I always wanted disappeared from my dreams.
At this point, you might be wondering why I am sharing this with all of you. And the answer is simply because I know your life has not been one big, fun merry-go-round ride either. We have all faced dark times when there seems to be no hope. So how do we get through the hard times without turning bitter, hateful, and faithless?
That is where I hope The Sacred, The South, and Sugar can help. In this blog I share my struggles with faith, prayer, moving on, and finding happiness and laughter at the other end. There are no PollyAnna stories here. Just real emotions and a real desire to find the joy in our lives. Because while there are hard times, there are so many more good times to be had. And I have finally realized that the life we have is infinitely more wonderful than the life we planned.
I will continue to share Hugh’s story of Type 1 Diabetes and helpful tips that we have found, but I will also share our bigger story of hope and faith. I will share what gives me inspiration, what I love, what our family enjoys, and funny stories of living in the South that I hope will make you laugh out loud. And I want you to share with me your stories of difficult times and what you have found at the other end.
If there is one thing I could tell you, dear friends, it would be this: We are all broken and we are all beautiful. May God allow you to see the broken and the beautiful in your own life, and may He allow you to see the broken and the beautiful in others. And may we all walk hand in hand on the journey before us as His love lights our way.
With Love, Sally
Please note: I am an Early Childhood Special Education teacher, have my Master’s degree in Special Education, and have had many experiences working with children of all ages and abilities. However, I am not a doctor and do not intend for my advice to take the place of your doctor’s expertise. I am sharing my experience in the hope that it can help others, but realize that everyone is different and no two situations of Type 1 are the same. Please read and learn from what we have done, and then proceed doing the best you can for you and your family.
