Thursday Thoughts

A and I were able to squeeze in a date night and we had so much fun.  I wasn’t convinced A would be up to it, but he assured me he was.  We headed to trivia night at a local bar, ordered appetizers, and had a blast guessing the correct answers to various questions.  Our team of two competed against teams of up to 8 people.  Amongst 20ish other teams, we finished in 6^th place and scored a free pitcher of beer.  And when I say “we” finished in 6^th place, I really mean A because I’m terrible at trivia (but love to participate).  Honestly, it didn’t matter to me what place we finished in; we were in desperate need of a night out and even though we were only out for a few hours, it was so restorative.

There’s one thing I didn’t mention about Disney and with A’s recent admission and the news that Vertex submitted an application for their triple combination therapy, my mind keeps returning to it.  We were in the process of checking out of the hotel and I was frustrated.  I was sad that we were leaving, the check out process was taking forever because the resort had mixed up our fight info and consequently, our reservations for the airport shuttle.  As a result of that, we were going to miss out on one of our Fastpasses.  I had to go back to the room and grab more of our luggage and when I returned, A was deep in conversation with a lady.  In the distance, I spotted a little girl attentively observing her mom talking to A.  I know Disney is super friendly, but this seemed like a different encounter.  Pretty quickly, I realized that they were talking about CF.  Don’t tell A, but he always gets a certain look when discussing the disease – it’s sort of timid/self-conscious expression.  It’s something he discusses with very few people.  I eventually learned that the little girl had spotted A’s Afflovest bag and immediately knew what it was for because she also has CF and an Afflovest.  I think it’s so beneficial for younger people with CF to see A and realize that they can have a very full life despite the challenges that CF brings.  While the two couldn’t get close, witnessing A wave to the little girl was one of the sweetest moments of the trip.

I feel like I’ve been talking about my new job too much (sorry!), but gosh, what a huge relief it’s been!  I realized that being in my former job for so long took a huge toll on my confidence.  Each time I was ignored or passed over made me feel invisible and I started questioning my own abilities and worth.  When coworkers and former colleagues learned I was moving to a new role, I received so many emails, messages, and well wishes.  Numerous people have told me my new department is really excited to have me.  I spent two years feeling unchallenged, excluded, and unnoticed and I finally feel appreciated!  Hallelujah!