Day 75: My First Day Back in the Office

Well, not taking a shower, either hot or cold, does not seem to have an effect on my overall sleep. Last night I slept for the same length of time as the previous night, including deep sleep. Only having one night of data isn’t enough but it was interesting to me when I woke up this morning.

Today was a big day and not one that I let on to earlier even though we had been planning it for a week. With Laura heading down to her office in San Jose, it was my first day going into my office. 

For those not familiar with the Bay Area, we live a minimum 1.25 hours away from both of our offices, and that’s without traffic. And if you are familiar with the Bay Area then you know that there is always traffic.

Before the seizures happened we were planning on moving closer to our offices. We are still planning on moving but that has now been pushed out to January after the holiday season.

As we started our drive through San Francisco I realized that the last time I had been on 19th Ave was when we were heading in for my brain surgery. That felt a bit surreal. It wasn’t something that I had thought through so it caught me off guard.

When I got to our campus I was surprised by my office being fully decorated to welcome me back. There was a big “welcome back” sign on my door, streamers all over, a Superman t-shirt and cape, a plant and a bottle of bubbles. It made me smile, was completely unexpected and was beyond thoughtful.

Knowing that today would be a surprise for many, I purposely didn’t schedule my first hour of being there. As people either saw me or heard my voice they started coming over to say hi. Most joked that they wanted to give me a hug but were afraid to.

It was overwhelming to see how much me just being there made others smile. 

Several people shared that they were inspired by me sharing this journey publicly. Everything from becoming confident in sharing their story to losing weight to booking a dream vacation years before they planned. 

As I have shared before, one of the best unexpected outcomes of this journey has been our story serving as an inspiration for others to make major changes in their lives. While it was something that many have expressed through digital channels, it was one of the few times that I have heard it in-person.

After putting in my time at the office, Laura picked me up and we headed back home. By the end of that drive my shoulders started to become sore. It was a long time in the car and being out of the house but overall, not too bad. 

Since we were both tired from the day we decided to grab salads and a glass of wine from one of our favorite small cafes in the area.

It will be another 2 weeks before I head back down to Santa Clara due to my grandparents coming into town next week. But, it was great to get down there for the day and spend time catching up with so many friends.