Jennifer in Luxembourg

I’m on the tram, just having finished watching the newest Superman. My first movie theatre in Europe experience. My eyes filled with tears several times during the movie as I recognized the scenes of my home. Terminal Tower, Soldiers and Sailors monument, and a lovely moment in the Galleria. I gasped when I saw Progressive Field panned in a shot as well. I remember walking on the Guardians bridge in the movie, and my heart leapt when I saw a shot of the city taken from one of my favorite Cleveland script signs. I recognized a scene shot in the lobby of the Tower City mall as well, a beautiful place my family frequented at Christmas. Tonight I miss my homeland. Like a lot. This Saturday I missed a coworkers wedding, where I would have seen so many colleagues who helped shape and build me into who I am today. Next week, I’ll miss another friend’s wedding, even though I triple checked flights and calendars to see if I could make it at all. This is the price of moving across an ocean. N...

I happily chattered as I walked into a visitor center for a large company along with about 50 others in my similar profession. I knew we were visiting a company with a healthcare imaging division, but I also knew them for many other products. What I didn't know is that the visitor center we were at, at their company headquarters, was heavily focused on medical imaging equipment, as is currently the bulk of their business.  We walked into the welcome video, and it was nice. And then the guide opened the door and ushered us into a giant room and my breath caught. Directly in front of me was a chest x-ray machine. The first one was used to find the 10 inch/26 cm mass in my lungs. Next to it, more x-ray machines. I felt my breathing become uneven. But I was fine...I'm a professional adult on a professional conference tour.  Until we turned the corner. Out of nowhere, I couldn't breathe at all, and my heart started racing. There was an MRI and CT machine, and right behind it...