So often when I’ve spoken about becoming “normal,” I’ve gotten several responses that all say the same thing: Normal is just a setting on the dryer. It doesn’t exist.

From a human perspective, this seems like a legitimate claim. There is no one way to get something accomplished. The majority of the time, there is no right or wrong – just a difference of opinion. We are all so diverse and that should be celebrated.

Suffering is a key component to life with Cystic Fibrosis. There is no need to dwell on this, it simply is a fact. Living with a chronic disease is painful. Every single day is different, and the pains and aches come and go like the wind. It’s easy to become lost in a world of despair when it seems that life is too painful. But if you look at it from another perspective the suffering is magnificent. Without the suffering it would be easy to miss the truly spectacular moments in the mundane. The pain we experience shows us why it’s so important to hold gratitude for the good days.

I recently read a book that moved me in so many ways. It was one of those rare ones that hooked me on page one and held me throughout. Part of the reason was the quote that was included at the onset and reinforced throughout:

“When you realize how perfect everything is, you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky.”

Each year, the turn of the calendar brings the cultural practice of creating “New Year’s Resolutions” in striving to improve our self, our lives, our health, or our finances with some level of commitment in which we are the judge of pass or fail. This practice is not something I really subscribe to. My life in both surviving and thriving with cystic fibrosis (CF) has entailed a willingness to go against the grain in not being limited or defined by perceptions or expectations of science, statistics, or cultural belief about me or my CF.