Expectations

It is human nature to try set goals and work towards achieving them. Nobody want to remain stagnant in any aspect of their lives: relationships, career, education. We have a drive that pulses through us so that we can continue to achieve our dreams and goals and pursue a life full of richness and fulfillment. This drive pulses through me just as strongly as it did when I went off to college, when I applied to jobs, when I went up for a promotion and when I wanted to become a mother. But I am struggling so much with taking that drive and that passion and making it a reality as CF presents itself more and more in my daily life.

CF has changed the way I view myself, specifically in the past 5 years. As my health situation has become more complicated I have trouble living the life as the person I think I am. I have always been driven and hard working and prided myself on doing well in school and in my careers. But lately my health seems to get in the way of all of my goals, not just the far reaching career and life purpose goals. Small goals like improving my swim times are constantly set back to zero by an exacerbation which leaves me too short of breath to swim more than a few laps. And even more basic goals like "I am going to catch up on laundry this weekend" get pushed aside when I wake up sick and unable to get out of bed.

In this season f my life I have been trying to focus on letting go of all expectations and just let my life ride out in the way it was meant to be (dictated by my health) and in many practical ways I have learned to adapt. I do everything early when I can because I know when the time comes I may be too sick to fulfill my duties. Like this fall when I bough Kaylee's backpack a month early, but didn't get shoes for her. I ended up sick the week before school started and she didn't get back to school shoes or other nonessential, but fun new items for the new school year. I write things on my calendar knowing there is a good chance that my health won't allow me to follow through. I say no more often than yes when given invitations trying to preserve my energy and minimize my germ exposure. But the practical ways of adapting are easy. It is the emotional adaptation that seems to be a struggle.

For so long Kaylee filled all my desire to feel successful because being a good mother is the most important job in the world and it was a 24/7 job that used up all of my energy and left me happy and full of pride each night. But as she has gotten older and needs me less and less I find more time in my day that I am not needed which makes me want to push myself to take on new responsibilities. With Kaylee in school full time I am finding myself with a lot of free time and that calling to do more, to be more is in full force.

A few weeks ago an opportunity fell in my lap that seemed to be the answer to my need to do more. A mom in Kaylee's class sought me out because she knew my background in education. Her daughter is dyslexic and she wanted my help through a specific program to tutor her daughter. She paid for the training and told me that the demand for these tutors in Kaylee's school alone was high and she had several families that may be interested in the same services. The hourly rate is high and the schedule flexible. I felt like this would be the perfect jumping off point in making money and starting my own business. Finally, I felt a little hope towards a fulfilling career. My husband was on board and we both felt so much excitement for this new endeavor.

The day before my first tutoring session I got sick. I coughed for 24 hours straight. I was able to tutor, but within hours of the student leaving my voice completely disappeared which happens every single time I am sick. The next day I wasn't able to get out of bed. The negative side of me felt so stupid for believing that maybe I could try to spread my wings and be human. I felt dumb for thinking I could push CF aside and try to do something for myself. The hopeful part of my brain that usually cheers me on even when the odds are slim was quiet for the first tie in a very long time. I haven't been well since September. Despite two rounds of IVs and a few rounds of orals, I seem to be in a pattern of sickness that my body can't pull out of. I have been here before and I know I will be here again, but right now it feels like a sinking hole I can't get out of. I also know when I sit here in the bottom of the pit of sickness my hope slowly starts to slip away. With CF the only way to survive is to hold on to hope because we really don't have anything else to grasp for.

For now, I am pausing my plans to build a business. It feels like a failure, but maybe it is just a pause button on a future success. Maybe the timing isn't right. Maybe it never will be, but if the time ever is right I know I have a plan. Maybe when I crawl out of this pattern of sickness I will reassess and try again. I will keep this one student and maybe over the next few years I can add a few more. Maybe I can't, but maybe by then I will have learned to let go of the expectations of what life should be like and just live the life I was given.