About a week before C & C left for Texas, I realized our opportunities to re-do Lilly Day were almost gone even in the second week of summer vacation!
I asked Caro if she felt up for the re-do and she. was. pumped. We prayed about it together right away and started planning a super fun and exciting day. Then I prayed some privately. I prayed I would hear her heart. I prayed I wouldn’t let my own disdain for public tears affect my ability to parent a very tender-hearted girl. I prayed I would see potentially problematic situations in advance, and circumvent them successfully. As usual, God was SO faithful in his provision to my deep desire to redeem the earlier experience with something amazing.
The day was glorious. She leaped out of bed at 7am, was dressed by 7:03, and sitting by the door with an empty banana peel at 7:07. Then she waited 30 minutes for me to finish getting ready for work. =) We started with a trip to LuLu’s for decaf – what every career girl needs to start the day! Upon arriving at Lilly we took our time getting into the building, relished the opportunity to show off her temporary security badge with HER NAME on it, and then made our way to the little museum in the main building.
She was such a sight to behold with her huge blue eyes taking everything in – especially the exhibits with old beakers, bottles, scales, and syringes. Then we made our way to a special interaction exhibit full of patient stories for all different indications. To see her read through all the special stories of patients who have benefited from the amazing discoveries at Lilly was a precious moment. I honestly, truly believe that Lilly puts the patient first, and I’ve relished this first year at a company that incorporates Excellence, Innovation, and Integrity into each decision we make through clinical development.
She especially enjoyed the replica office and library with original furniture and photographs of the Lilly family and the little outdoor replica of the first pharmacy/production building. I continue to be thankful for my work at the Mayborn, and how it afforded us the rare opportunity to expose her to this format of discovery on a daily basis!
When we finished learning our museum tours, we parked ourselves at a table next to the pond and she wrote in her journal and drew pictures while I reviewed some papers. We were there almost two hours before the tummies started rumbling and it was time for lunch.
One of the saddest pieces of the icky day was that Caroline didn’t get to eat at work with me in our fancy dining hall. For this trip, I let Caro choose what we’d eat and was shocked when she chose stir-fry! (Note that we also have a wood-fire pizza oven and a Subway, which are two of her faves.) She loved waiting in line with all the chemists and physicians and attorneys, she acted like it was no big thing…. in a way that projected a confidence that she might one day find herself in similar position. I pray continuously that she will follow God’s Will and that she will find a great fulfillment in whatever he has laid out for her. Whether it be science, academia, theatre, art, teaching – I hope and pray and profess that she will find a job/mission that she loves as much as I love working for Lilly.
We rounded out the day with a group seminar on Bayesian Statistics and their place in Pharma, and she was SUCH a star. We picked a couple of spots in the back of the lecture hall, and she quietly sipped her special tea drink and read stories on my Kindle. At one point she started listening intently and taking “notes”, which actually caught the attention of the speaker and caused her to pause and smile in our direction.
She was genuinely sad when we had to cut out early to go to the dentist. She enjoyed herself thoroughly, asked a LOT of questions, and reflected every ounce of God’s goodness and love that I have the privilege of seeing each and every day. My eyes filled with tears as we drove out of the parking garage… I am so abundantly blessed. I’m blessed to have a God that loves me and provides opportunities for redemption. I’m blessed to have a daughter who is bright and clever and funny and inquisitive. I’m blessed to have a job with a company that I can trust, who allows me to share my day with my sweet daughter. I’m blessed to have the opportunity to show my child where I work, where I invest a great deal of my time, where I’m developing as a scientist, and where I’m contributing to the development of medications that can potentially change a patient’s quality of life. I’m blessed to be in a city where God reigns!
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