You've got a friend in me — Lung Story Short...

Who do you lean on? Who do you talk to when you need help or advice? Who makes you laugh even when a dark cloud is over your head? Who makes up your family outside the family you were grew up with? I stand by my belief that sometimes the family you make outside the one you grew up around is the strongest support system you have. Yes, your family is very important but it's a little different from a friend family. A strong friend family consists of people from all walks of life who you have curated lasting strong relationships with. Yes, some friends come and go but the ones that stick by your side when shit hits the fan, that's family. For me personally, my friend family is my support system, these beautiful human beings have my back no matter what and I trust them with my life. Rima has the same amazingly strong relationship with her friend family.

Throughout this journey we've been on these already amazingly wonderful relationships have strengthened. It's times like these that make you aware of the people who really care. Friends have reached out to us letting us know they're here for us and think of us often. Even friends we have not spoken to in a while. It's really incredible the amount of support and love we've received from these groups of friends. As I've moved from city to city from state to state, I've met some really marvelous people. Almost in every city I've lived in I have a pocket of close friends who are dear to my heart. We may not speak every day but when or if I needed to lean on them, they would brush off their shoulders and so would I for them. It's these types of relationships that really come into play when health issues arise.

Rima and I know that once she gets new lungs we have a whole bucket of people who want to come out and help us in anyway. Not everyone is so lucky to have this in his or her life. We know we're lucky that our friends would press pause on their busy lives to come and help us out when needed. The community that has built itself around us and keeps us warm and going is a special one. Rima has made a lot of new friendships in the CF community since this all started and they've been a lifeline for her, in regard to understanding what she's going through. Not only are they her friends but some have even gone through a double lung transplant. Rima has been able to relate to these new friends to a level she has never experienced before. She is able to pick their brains with questions or situations she is about to encounter and get firsthand reliable trustworthy advice. They have become special people in her life because they bond on a different level.

My friends have been super understanding and supportive during this entire journey. From care packages, to heartfelt cards, to funny distracting texts, I'm a lucky woman. My friends in Brooklyn who I left over a year ago still fill me in on the neighborhood gossip, like how much better our local grocery store is getting, yeah wait till I move out to Bushwick to get a juice bar, pshhhh. Even though some friends have never experienced a health issue in their immediate family they're a text, call or snapchat away from distracting me if needed. Not just for me but for Rima, my friends have taken on caring about her and keeping up with her health in a way that makes my heart grow ten times. They know that she's the number one importance for me so they make room for her in their lives. It's not often that you see a sister duo get along so well without being twins and have both of their friends care and reach out to the other. We're very lucky. Thank you to all our amazing, strong, beautiful friends, we love you!

The photo booth was not printing for us, fail!

Last week one of my good friends from LA was in town for work. Christian and I go back to my cali living days. It's so awesome that time and lots of distance has not rocked our friendship. Last Thursday Rima and I met up with him for dinner and a few games at Punch Bowl Social. This place is pretty cool, there is one in Denver and it's a bar/restaurant/bowling/game establishment. We skipped out on the bowling part since Rima had already gone to the gym earlier in the day and was tired, instead we played some bocce. Rima and I will definitely be going back to play more games.

Friday our cousin Alana from Chicago flew in to visit us for a few days. We were so excited to have her stay with us. I picked her up from the airport in the early afternoon and then we went back to the house and the three of us got to catch up for a bit. That night we met up with Christian for dinner at a super cute place, The Sample Room. We all fell in love with it; Rima and I will be back again, very soon! After dinner, we went to a bluegrass show. It was great to hear some live music and from some really talented musicians. Apparently this was Rima's first concert/show in almost two years!

Saturday we got a bit of a lazy start but can you blame us from it after a night of live bluegrass?!? Don't answer that, yes we act like old people now. We met up with Christian for some coffee at a cool modern cafe in downtown Minneapolis for an hour or so before he left for his flight back to LA. It was so fun to see him and pickup just where we left off, we can't wait to see him when he's back this summer! For lunch Rima and I wanted to show Alana our favorite restaurant in the city, Young Joni. Alana is a foodie and is always down for a new experience so we did not want her to miss it. We shared three pizzas and finished them off like pros! Later that night back at the house we broke out the bananagrams game and had a few giggles.

Sunday we wanted to show Alana some of our favorite sites in the city. We took her to the stone arch bridge. It was a beautiful day, a tad windy, tad meaning holy moly it was windy. We walked across the bridge and then had some bites to nibble on at a cafe on the Mississippi river. It was so nice to eat outside and be in the sun. Rima was all about it till gnats started to attack her and they just didn't stop the whole meal unless there was wind, poor Rima. After lunch, we walked back across the bridge and then drove down to the lakes to do some good ol' house gawking. We got to show Alana three lakes and plenty of beautiful homes. We then parked ourselves at Lake of the Isles for some late afternoon sun catching. After, we finished off the night with sushi at our favorite sushi place thus far, Wakame. I'd say it was a super solid Sunday.

Monday while Rima was at pulmonary rehab Alana and I had a nice little breakfast in the spring sun. It was so refreshing to have some company and not just be running my usual Monday errands; it's good to shake things up. We swooped Rima up after and headed down to Minnehaha Falls. Alana had been to the park before but had not gone down to the actual falls. We were lucky it was so nice out and less windy than the previous day. Rima was a trooper and was all about going down to the falls knowing she would have to climb 108 steps back up after already working out. We hung out by the falls for a little. For dinner, we were making pizza, Rima's pizza to be specific. She has a recipe for really tasty pizza dough, which she made on Saturday so it would be super flavorful by Monday night. We made a mushroom, onion, basil pizza and then Alana tried her hand at recreating a pizza she had a while ago. It consisted of rosemary, garlic, potato, and eggs. Both pizzas turned out great and it was a delicious end to another eventful day.

Tuesday Alana was going back to Chicago. Before she left we took her to another one of our favorite spots in the city, Gyst which makes our favorite kombucha. We didn't think they could do it but the one they had on tap blew us out of the water it was so good. Both Rima and I could not stop talking about how yummy it was and even picked the brain of the genius who made that batch. If you have ever made kombucha or talked to another person who makes it then you probably understand the level of geeking out Rima and I were apart of; talking about scobys, sugar and room temperatures. We could have talked to her about kombucha for hours! After finishing our kick-ass bucha and cheese plate we reluctantly had to say goodbye to Alana. She spoiled us the whole trip and was down to help and assist me in any way. We felt like we had a mini staycation, she was on vacation and so were we in a way. We're excited for her next trip back in a few months.

Wednesday we were back from staycation mode. I dropped Rima off at pulmonary rehab and I ran some errands. When we returned home I checked the mail and was delighted to find an envelope filled with cards from my friend family in Brooklyn. My best friends who I had also lived with had got together and sent me some handmade cards. Not just to me but to Rima also, like I said I'm a lucky woman. Needless to say they all made the honor of making it to the fridge. It sort of looks like we have kid art up, which is funny, but I'll take this kid art because some real special humans created it!