If you don't have a smile, I'll give you one of mine.

 (I do not know this child. He was found on Google images. His name is Xander. Hello Xander's parents if you find this. I just liked the photo because he had a silly smile. I have no intentions with your son.)

Every time I go to the doctors or set foot on Boston Medical Center's campus, a sense of contentment overwhelms me. Remember when I spoke about the power of a smile? Well, whenever I am on BUMC campus I make sure to smile at every person I pass. I almost feel like it is my responsibility because I am at a place in my life where I've been blessed and fortunate enough to overcome struggles AND have the ability to lend that sense of hope to others. Especially older patients. I walked by this older lady sitting on a bench on my way to my kidney doctor and I smiled at her. If you saw this woman, you would understand what a sense of accomplishment I felt when she smiled back. She reminded me of the Maxine cartoon. It felt good to provide her with a happy moment, even if it was short lived.


So, yesterday I saw my two main specialists (rheumatologist and nephrologist). They weren't really able to give me a sense of where I was at because I haven't had a full set of labs done for about a month. Yesterday, I completed a full set of labs and I should know where I'm at by my next chemotherapy treatment (next week). One thing my kidney doctor did express was his concern that my kidneys are not getting better fast enough. I am regaining function (I went from 25% to 35%) but he wishes that there were more signs of improvement. Although things aren't happening at a speedy rate, he is hopeful that I will be fine.

Lately things have been up and down for me. More ups than down. The only downer moments happen when I sit around and sulk. Not the pity party type sulking, just thinking a lot and worrying, etc., etc. I've been making an extra effort to go out a lot which is nice. I've gone to some festivals in Cambridge and Boston Pride was last weekend. Good times. It made me reevaluate the way I handle things and where I'm at. I learned to appreciate the vast amount of good that I have around me.


The last thing I need to add to my collection of goodness is a dagnab job. I interviewed for a jobsicle on Monday and I have two job/internship interviews this week. Let's hope one of them snags me.