This fall, I found a painful lump in my breast. I always heard pain was a good sign but I am not a doctor, so I’ve essentially been freaking out for a few weeks. It’s been hard to stay focused and staying off-Google, but I eventually scheduled a mammogram yesterday to get some piece of mind. I was dreading having to go to the exam on my own but through a twist of fate, I did not.
At the 2016 DC Chocolate Festival, a volunteer named Barb heard about me and we’ve been in touch ever since. She’s been very supportive of my endeavors and I feel like we’ve known each other for years. Yesterday, she drove one hour from Maryland to meet me at Philter Coffee so she could purchase two Map Chocolate bars I brought back from the Northwest Chocolate Festival in Seattle. When I excused myself because for the mammogram, she offered to come with me because “you shouldn’t go through this alone.” You bet I accepted. Barb waited for me for 2 1/2 hours in the waiting room and, after the reassuring news came, we went back to Philter to chat and relax.
Success means different things for different people. To me, it’s always been about friendships and relationships. A number of likes on a photo or likers on a page, even the number of zeros on a bank account suddenly mean nothing if you have to go through difficult things alone. Thank you, Barb, for being there for me yesterday.