My tribe

There’s life before, and life after. Before. Before the hospitalizations. Before the surgeries. Before the specialist visits. Before the unknown and constant worry. Before the sleepless nights. Before the hours upon hours of therapy. Before the tears. Before CDG.

Life before was akin to walking on a paved path. Smooth with an occasional rock or stick in the way. Nothing I couldn’t walk around or simply step over.

Then there’s after.

All of a sudden my smooth path stopped abruptly. Up ahead I saw rocks. Not just pebbles, big rocks. Cliffs. Steep cliffs. Terrain never seen before. I looked around and didn’t know where to go. I was terrified and alone. I glanced over my shoulder at my smooth path and as much as I wanted to run back I knew turning around wasn’t an option. I had to face the unknown in front of me. I had no idea how I was going to navigate this new terrain. I shakily stepped onto the rocks and started to stumble, but something amazing happened….you were there.

You reached your hand out to help me gain my balance. You held on tight to me as I started falling backward. As I continued walking something even more amazing happened, more of you walked alongside me. Some of you looked at me with supportive smiles and reminded me I could handle this. Many of you walked next to me, all tripping and stumbling, but holding each other up never letting one another fall. Some of you have seen terrain like this before, and for many of you it was just as foreign to you as it was to me the first time I laid eyes on it. We continue to move forward, hoisting one another over boulders and linking hands to carefully sidestep on a ledge. It’s not all terrifying. It’s not all excruciating. Alone it would be but together we can do it. We look at each other with encouraging smiles that say you got this.

I couldn’t navigate this terrain without you. My tribe.

Thank you for picking me up when I fall.

Thank you for guiding me when I’m lost.

Thank you for laughing with me when I need it the most.

Thank you for carrying me when I don’t think I can push any farther.

Thank you for holding my hand in the silence.

Thank you for loving us.

Thank you for reminding me that there’s so much beauty in the journey.

Thank you for motivating me to make a difference.

Thank you for not stopping when the pavement ended. Thank you for being next to us as we navigate this foreign territory. Thank you to those of you who were waiting up ahead with your faded map to help us as we embark on this journey. Our life would not be the same without each and every one of you.

Thank you for being part of our story, and allowing us to be part of yours. Not a day goes by when I don’t have something to be thankful for.

And today, it’s you. My tribe.